No Warm Memories
by Lady Callista
Summary: After the Winter War ends, people can think of something besides battle. And it seems all Hitsugaya can think about is a human girl who once tried to take out a Hollow with a soccer ball. Chapter-fic, HitsuKarin, Series: "After the Winter War"
1. A Heart to Heart

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I am making no money from this. Tite Kubo owns all, I'm just playing with them for a while. I also do not own any of the quotes I use at the start of each chapter. They were all found on the internet, and if they have an author I say who it is.

Author's Notes:

1) I've seen every episode of the anime, which currently means 223. I only recently started reading the manga, and am only at chapter 140 of that. So this story will be based primarily on the anime, although I may take stuff from the manga if I find something cool. Like most HitsuKarin fics, it kinda has to be based on the anime, cause I don't believe the whole thing with them and the soccer game is in the manga.

2) As I do not know how the Winter War will end, or more importantly, who will die in it, I'll probably make vague references to people having died but will not ever say who. I also won't say how it ended, just that it did and Aizen was defeated. I'm really hoping none of the characters I use in this story die in the cannon verse, but if they do, oh well. That's why it's called fan fiction.

3) I watch Bleach, like many people, subbed by Dattebayo, so I'm used to thinking of the characters by the names they use in the Japanese version and my writing reflects that. (When I first started reading the manga it drove me nuts that they use the names wrong.) I also think in terms of Shinigami and Taicho, not Soul Reaper and Captain. I've noticed many fanfics do this however, so I don't think it should be a problem, I was just letting you know. The glossary is at the end, but probably won't be necessary for most of you.

4) And finally, this is my first real story in the Bleach-verse, so any feedback or reviews would be welcome and ever so helpful. All I've ever written for Bleach was a series of short POV drabbles by various characters, and they didn't get many reviews, so I'm not sure what people thought of my characterization. (And yes, Hitsugaya is a little OOC in this chapter, but as that is explained in the chapter I'm not sure it counts.)

5) Anyways, after what might possibly be the longest AN ever, please enjoy…

* * *

No Warm Memories

By Lady Callista

Chapter 1: A Heart to Heart

_OoOoOoOoOoOoO_

_"Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories."_

_OoOoOoOoOoOoO_

It was a week after the end of the war, and things in Seireitei were finally back to normal. Karakuru Town was back in the real world where it belonged, and most of those who had been injured in the fighting were healed and back on active duty.

Sitting on the roof of Juubantai's main office, one of his favorite places to think, Hitsugaya Toshiro looked up at the stars and reveled in the silence. Finally all of the victory parties were over. This was the first night since the end of the war that he could actually hear himself think.

Not that that was necessarily a good thing at the moment, he mused as he picked out some of his favorite constellations. For all the could think about at the moment was a certain dark-haired human. A girl he'd had no business becoming friends with. And he really shouldn't be thinking of her as more than a friend.

She was a mere child. Although they looked to be about the same age, he was older than, well okay, not than her father, but older than her father would have been had he been just a normal human.

It was just that he'd never met anyone like her. In many ways she was more mature than her older brother, hell, she acted more mature than many of the Shinigami. The fact that she'd angrily kicked a soccer ball at his head the first time they met not withstanding. And she had the same courage her brother did. The same desire to protect those around her.

Yet no matter what attraction he felt towards her, it was forbidden. Shinigami were not allowed to fall in love with humans. Well, to be fair, Shinigami weren't allowed to be romantically involved with humans. You couldn't really make a law saying who someone could fall in love with, but you could certainly make a law forbidding them to act on it.

It was a law that had been enforced only once.

After all, Shinigami didn't often spend enough time in the real world to fall in love with humans, and even if they did it was a one-sided attraction as most humans could not see them. Hitsugaya didn't know if the fact that he was falling for the daughter of the man who had left Soul Society because of that law was funny or just sad.

But even if the law didn't exist, Histugaya knew he would still have a hard time deciding what to do. Putting aside the fact that he didn't even know how she felt about him, he wanted her to have a normal life. Not to sit around waiting for the few and far between times he could make it to the real world. They could not be like *Hikoboshi and Orihime, meeting only one night out of the year.

She should find someone to love. Someone who could have a family with her, grow old with her, make her happy. Even if he followed in her father's footsteps so that he could do the first two, he had no idea how to make her happy. He couldn't even make himself happy. He was always cold inside. She deserved so much more than…

His thoughts abruptly trailed off as he sensed someone approaching the building, and he was unsurprised when he identified the reiatsu of Matsumoto Rangiku. No one else would disturb him when he was up here unless it was an emergency. Except Momo of course, and she was in no mood to seek out anyone's company at the moment.

Histugaya sighed, making sure his face was blank as she alighted on the edge of the roof and made her way over to him. At least she was sober. He didn't want to deal with a drunk Matsumoto right now.

"Not out at the bars tonight, Matsumoto?" Hitsugaya asked as his fukutaicho settled onto the roof next to him.

"Ah, the night is young yet, taicho," Matsumoto replied as she slid a bottle of sake and two glasses out of her shihakusho.

Hitsugaya glanced at the glasses, rolled his eyes at where she had pulled them from, then settled his gaze back on the stars he'd been watching. "Double-fisting already?"

"No, Hitsugaya-kun, one is for you," She said as she expertly balanced the glasses on the roof, filled them, and held one out to her taicho. "I thought we could toast the end of the war."

"It's Hitsugaya-taicho," He said by rote. "And I don't drink."

"Not even tonight?" She asked quietly, still offering one glass to him. "Aizen is dead. Gi…Ichimaru…is dead. Tosen is dead, although I don't think he ever mattered to anyone nearly as much as the other two did. We won, taicho. Although we took losses, we won. We should be celebrating."

Hitsugaya took the glass, staring into the moon's reflection in the clear liquid as he spoke in his always restrained manner, "I don't feel much like celebrating. I don't feel like doing much of anything."

"You have been quieter than usual, taicho," Matsumoto said as she held her glass up to his, urging him to be polite and do the same. "I think it's been three days since you've yelled at me."

Hitsugaya glanced over at her, seeing the seriousness in her face behind the flippant comment, "When compared to the war we just went through, whether or not you're too lazy or hung-over to do your paperwork doesn't seem that important."

Matsumoto smiled slightly, moving her glass closer to his.

Hitsugaya sighed, and tapped his cup to hers before saying, "Kanpai." She replied with the same, and they both drank.

Hitsugaya took a fortifying breath as the sake burned down his throat. He'd never explained to anyone why he didn't drink, but he was pretty sure Matsumoto had an idea.

She'd been bugging him one time to come drinking with her and the other seats, and he'd asked her what she felt when she drank. She'd gotten as far as saying warm and flirty, then gone quiet and wished him a good night as she left him alone.

They were silent for a moment, and when she reached over to refill his glass he didn't object. That gave her enough courage to ask, "Is Hinamori-fukutaicho still…"

"Unohana-taicho says she's fine physically, but…"

Matsumoto tapped her glass to his as he trailed off, and manners had him drinking as she did. After a long moment of silence, she said hesitantly, "She was still calling him taicho. Even as she fought his pawns, even as she saved my life, she couldn't think of him as anything else."

"I know," Hitsugaya replied even as he pretended to not see Matsumoto refilling his glass yet again. After his earlier thoughts, the burn of the sake was an almost welcome distraction. "Think of how many decades she idolized him. Think of how long she served under him. How long she loved him."

Matsumoto paused as she refilled her sake cup, hearing the pain in her taicho's voice and uncertain as to its cause. She'd always known him and Hinomori were only best friends, despite the rumors that had circulated to the contrary. But he seemed to be mourning more than the loss of a friend…

"Is that what you've been so upset about?" Matsumoto asked finally, having given up on thinking of a better way to phrase her question.

"If you're implying that I love Hinamori, I do, but not in the way that you're thinking." Hitsugaya replied, the sake having worked its way through his system. He was still fully aware of where he was and who he was speaking to, but he knew that despite the fact that his fukutaicho was one of the main cogs in the rumor mill, this conversation would go no further than the two of them. And he had no one else he could speak to like this. "She's been my best friend for more years than I can count. My only friend for so many of those years. And now she's hurt. Hurt beyond anything I know how to fix. I can't help her, because I can't understand her. I've never been in _love_, Matsumoto, not like she was with that bastard. I don't know how to make her Momo again."

That he'd slipped from his normal insistence on formality and called his friend Momo told Matsumoto just how upset he was. But it was the tone of voice he'd used on the sentence before that one that really peaked her inner curiousness. Yet she knew him very well, so she discarded the dozen thoughts that popped into her head; the thoughts she would have used to tease any of her other male friends had they said the word 'love' in such a telling way. It was rare for her taicho to open up to her, to talk of anything personal, and she knew that if she wasn't careful he'd just close down again.

"Forgive me if I'm being impertinent, Hitsugaya, but you must have an idea of how she feels. You must have, at some point, felt that way about someone."

Hitsugaya was silent for so long that she almost got up and left, afraid that she had somehow opened a wound she didn't know about. But his face showed only deep thought, as if he was thinking of how to best phrase his answer, so she only refilled their cups again as they both stared at the stars.

"Matsumoto, what does it feel like to be in love?' Hitsugaya's voice was so low she barely heard him.

"I'm not sure I know, taicho, " Matsumoto replied, thinking of Gin. "I've had a best friend for so long. I've had someone to love. But I'm not sure if I've ever been _in _love. And, understand I mean no offense, but I don't really think Hinomori was in love with Aizen. I don't think you can love someone unless you really know them. All of them. She never knew the real him."

Hitsugaya absently drank the sake she had poured for him, barely feeling the burn this time. "What if you can't tell someone everything about you? What if despite the fact that…"

Matsumoto paused with her dish of sake halfway to her mouth. Her instincts had been right that her taicho was having problems with his personal life, but now she was getting confused. She'd been almost certain it wasn't Momo, and he'd confirmed that. Although he was deeply concerned for his friend, he'd been dealing with that for months now. She knew it wasn't her; thank all the gods that she'd finally managed to establish a working relationship with a man who didn't just want to drink with her or party with her or sleep with her. Or all three. But that left her confused as to who he was talking about.

"But you're a taicho. Everyone knows you…"

"Everyone in _Seireitei _knows who I am. And all of Soul Society, at least by my haori."

Matsumoto was even more confused as he stopped speaking, then slowly she started to realize what he meant. "But in the human world…"

Hitsugaya glanced at her for an instant, then looked back up at the stars. He took a deep breath before deciding to continue the conversation. Normally this would have been the point where to told her to leave, or where he just stopped talking. But this had been rolling around in his head for so long that he could no longer keep it in. "I suppose it's not that I can't tell her, after all she knows about Shinigami and everything, but I don't want to. She should have a normal life. Well, as normal a life as possible, considering her powers."

Matsumoto's mind was whirling. She could only think of a few girls that he'd met when they'd been down in the real world in the weeks before Orihime's capture by Aizen, and most of them had been Kurosaki's friends. But only Orihime really had power…

Kurosaki…Matsumoto's mind suddenly latched onto the name…Kurosaki Karin. She'd met the girl only once, after Hitsugaya had saved her and her friends from a Hollow, and had been amazed that the girl could see them as Shinigami. She'd been more amazed when she'd heard the girl call him "Toshiro" without getting at least a glare in return. It had been obvious that wasn't the first time they'd met.

She couldn't help but chuckle at the first thought that popped into her head as she thought of Hitsugaya liking the girl, and he glared at her even as she spoke, "Ichigo would really hate that."

The glare faded, and Matsumoto was blessed with getting to see one of her taicho's rare smiles. "I know."

She laughed out loud this time, then stopped as a thought ran through her head. It explained perfectly why he'd been so upset for the past few days. "But she's human, and…"

Hitsugaya nodded, and said quietly. "I can't give her a future, Matsumoto. It could be years before I'm sent back to the real world. It could be decades. And I don't even know if she thinks of me as more than a friend. But there was just something about her, something so captivating…"

Matsumoto looked over at him as he trailed off, amazed at the emotion in his voice. She'd been trying for years and years to get him to mellow out a little, to not be cold and serious every single moment, and in a few days Karin had somehow done it. Not only was he feeling something, but he was expressing it. It was so out of character for him that Matsumoto didn't know how to react.

So she reacted the way she normally would. With a joke. It was guaranteed to end their talk, but that was probably a good thing. He'd obviously been thinking about Karin before she disturbed him, and would be doing so after she left. And she didn't really have anything helpful to say. So she laughed, "Wow, if I'd know all it would take to get you to talk to me was a few glasses of sake, I would have poured some down your throat years ago."

The glare returned, his frozen mask falling over his face as he replied, "Weren't you going to meet some of your friends at the bar?"

Matsumoto sighed as she tucked the cups and sake bottle back into her cleavage. "I think that's the first time you've ever told me to go out drinking."

He didn't reply, so she stood and started to walk away from him. She was just about to shunpo off the roof when she heard him speak again.

"Rangiku, thank you for listening to me."

Matsumoto's face broke into a beaming smile, although she kept her back to him and responded in an equally quiet voice, "Anytime, Toshiro, anytime."

Then she left him alone with his thoughts.

_To Be Continued…_

* * *

Omake - Radio Kon

Kon: So our guest tonight is Hitsugaya Toshiro, Juubantai's taicho. Does anyone have questions for the boy genius?

Hitsugaya: What? Matsumoto told me I was required at a meeting…

Kon: So our first question comes from someone who says you've been her favorite character from the moment you were introduced. "Hitsugaya-taicho, what's it's like to be young forever?"

Hitsugaya: I'm not young! I'm over 40 years old! Haven't you ever heard that you should never judge a book by it's cover?

Kon: Which leads very well into our next question. "Shiro-chan, what do you hate the most about being the youngest taicho in history?"

Hitsugaya: It's Hitsugaya-taicho. And that's part of the answer. Everyone in Soul Society is older than they look, but for some reason everyone forgets that when dealing with me. And don't even get me started on what happens when I go to the real world… [microphone turns to ice and then shatters]

Kon: Well, unfortunately that's all the time we have for tonight. Thanks for listening, and hopefully I'll be talking to you again soon. Thanks for talking to us, Shiro-chan.

Hitsugaya: *stress mark* It's Hitsugaya-taicho!

* * *

Glossary:

* Hikoboshi and Orihime: The two lovers in the legend of Tanabata, who can only meet one night out of the year, and only if it's not raining. They are represented by the stars Altair and…oh, just go and wikipedia the word Tanabata if you don't know this story. It'll be much easier.

Fukutaicho: literally "Vice Unit Commander." The manga uses "Assistant Captain" and the official dub, I believe, uses "Lieutenant."

Haori: An item of clothing, normally a man's over-garment. Used in Bleach for the white taicho's "overcoat" with the number on the back that all of the taicho wear.

Juubantai: Tenth Division, led by Hitsugaya

Kanpai: "Cheers!"; a toast when drinking.

-kun: A suffix used with young boys, or with boys that you are close to. Orihime, for example, uses this with all of her male friends. Although they are close enough that it wouldn't be strange for Matsumoto to call Hitsugaya this, he always insists on formality, hence his objection when she uses it.

Reiatsu: Spirit energy, each person's is unique.

Shihakusho: Shinigami uniform; the black hakama and gi/haori that all Shinigami wear.

Shinigami: literally "Death God," one of my least favorite things about the English version is that for some reason they use the translation "Soul Reaper."

Shunpo: Flash-step in the English.

Taicho: literally "Unit Commander." The manga and anime both say "Captain."


	2. Sake and Sunsets

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I am making no money from this. Tite Kubo owns all, I'm just playing with them for a while. I also do not own any of the quotes I use at the start of each chapter. They were all found on the internet, and if they have an author I say who it is.

See all author's notes in part one. Also, if this gets confusing let me know, but I think that the way I refer to characters is going to vary chapter to chapter. Since Histugaya always refers to his fukutaicho as "Matsumoto" that's what I was calling her last chapter, but since everyone she's drinking with calls her "Rangiku" that's what I'm going to refer to her as here. Again, if this is confusing let me know and I'll edit it, but I think it will actually be easier than everyone calling her by her given name and me referring to her by her family name.

Apparently my muse loves me right now. Two chapters in two days. Don't expect the rest of the story to come this fast though…

* * *

No Warm Memories

By Lady Callista

Chapter 2: Sake and Sunsets

_OoOoOoOoOoOoO_

_As soon go kindle fire with snow, as seek to quench the fire of love with words._

_-William Shakespeare_

_OoOoOoOoOoOoO_

"Rangiku, you're late!" Renji called out as she entered one of their usual hangouts a few minutes later.

"Just had to take care of a few things," The strawberry blond replied as she took the vacant seat next to him, pulling out her glass and filling it from one of the bottles on the table.

"The child prodigy making you work too hard again?" Shunsui asked as he reached across the table to refill his glass, cursing when the sleeve of his pink kimono almost knocked one of the bottles over.

Rangiku forced a laugh, knowing half of Seireitei would be covered with ice if she let slip what she and Hitsugaya had actually been talking about. "Nah, he's almost given up on even trying anymore," She said in a careless voice. "It's not like he's got anything else to do with his time anyway."

Izuru groaned at that, downing his glass and pouring another. "Wish I had someone who would do all my paperwork for me. We really need to work on replacing the three taicho that…"

Renji reached over and smacked him on the arm. "No talking about work and traitors tonight. I'm sick to death of everyone talking about the war and it's aftermath. I just wanna forget about it for one night and have fun."

"That's hard when most of our normal Friday night drinking group are still having wounds tended," Rangiku replied, looking at the three men she sat with. Their group was usually about three times as big.

"Only a few of them," Shunsui replied with a grin. "Most are just still hung-over from the past days of non-stop parties."

Rangiku and Renji both laughed, while Izuru sighed. "This is the first time I've gotten out since the war ended. Even though I've been running the Sanbantai for a while now…"

Renji hit him again. "No talking about work."

"You're the one who dragged me out tonight! So tell me then, what do you want to talk about?" Izuru shot back. "Half of what we always do when we're drinking is complain about work, and the other half is usually telling stupid stories. And I don't think I'm drunk enough yet to find a stupid story funny."

Rangiku laughed. "What if we play a game that'll help us get drunk faster? When I was in the human world I saw a movie where they played this game…"

OoOo _About an hour later _oOoO

"Never have I ever actually wanted to be a taicho," Shunsui said with a grin as he signaled the waitress to bring more bottles of sake to the table that was already overflowing with empty ones.

Rangiku and Izuru laughed in agreement even as Renji sighed and took a drink of sake.

"Never eve…never have I ever kissed a girl." Rangiku tripped over the phrase before getting it out. Then laughed her head off when only Shunsui took a drink.

"Seriously?" Shunsui said as he turned to the two other men.

"I've only ever liked one girl, and she's always been in love with someone else," Izuru replied with a sigh.

"Whereas I don't think the one I like has ever been in love with anyone," Renji replied caustically.

"Who ever said anything about love?" Shunsui asked with a laugh. "Kissing is fun."

"But it's gotta be better if you love someone, right?" Rangiku replied as she refilled everyone's glasses.

"What about you, Ran-chan?" Renji asked as he heard the wistfulness in her voice. "Who's the guy you love that you can't have?"

"No one," Rangiku replied with a laugh, refusing to allow herself be depressed by the thought of the one person she might have fallen in love with if he'd been a better man. "As if any guy would say no to me if I asked."

The guys laughed with her, then went quiet as her voice turned more thoughtful. "I guess it's just something I was thinking about when I was in the real world. I mean, how long have each of you been in love with the women you love without telling them? Cause we know we'll have forever. Baring wars like the one we just went through, there's not much that can kill us. So we can just put everything off till tomorrow, or the next day, or the next. We don't have to give up on our dreams cause we can always tell ourselves that we have plenty of time to obtain them."

Izuru looked at her thoughtfully. "You're really drunk if you're getting this sentimental and introspective."

Rangiku flipped him off. "It's just something I was thinking about when I was watching the humans. It wasn't like we had much else to do down there."

"I know what you mean," Renji surprised everyone by speaking up. "If I knew she or I could die at anytime, I might have told her. If I knew we'd age, and only have 60 or 70 years to live, I'd want to spend that time with her. As it is, I've been in love with her for over 50 years, but I keep putting off telling her."

"I keep thinking that she's my friend, and someone I have to work with," Izuru joined the pity party. "Living forever also means that if you mess things up, you have to live with it forever. I know I'm a coward, but I'd rather have her friendship for decades than risk telling her, because if she doesn't feel the same way about me I may lose that friendship."

"Wow, you three got depressing fast," Shunsui drawled as he had more sake. He could tell the game they'd been playing was over, his friends having passed into the sentimental, sit-and-moan-about-my-life stage of drunkenness.

"Humans just have such a vitality to them, Shunsui, this energy I can't define, " Rangiku said as she offered her glass for him to refill. "Not like we do obviously, not reiatsu, but there's just something about them. They know their time is limited, so they reach for their goals. They work so hard for what they want. In many ways, they just amaze me."

Renji laughed then. "Did you go and fall in love with a human, Ran?"

Rangiku forced a laugh. "Of course not. But would it be so bad?"

"Well, other than the fact that you'd be kicked out of the Gotei Juusantai you mean."

"It might be worth it for the right person." Rangiku replied, trying to ignore her worry that her taicho might make the same choice Kurosaki Isshin had.

Renji laughed. "You did, you fell in love with a human!"

Rangiku knew at this point that any more denials on her part would only convince them more that she had done so. Or if she actually managed to convince them, they would assume she was talking about someone else and start to wonder. And as so few of the Shinigami had spent enough time in the real world to have fallen in love…

Not particularly wanting to end her life as a pillar of ice, Rangiku sighed and started making up a non-existent guy she'd fallen for. She did know how to tell a great story, after all.

OoOo _A few days later, in the real world _oOoO

"Oi, Karin-chan, what are you doing up here?" Ichigo called out as he approached his sister, who was leaning against a guard rail and staring at the setting sun.

She looked over at him, sighing as she took in the shihakusho and zanpakuto. "You do realize that if anyone drives by they'll think I'm this crazy girl talking to herself, right?"

Ichigo laughed as he leaned against the rail next to her. "If you'd been home on time that wouldn't be a problem. Yuzu was all stressed out that dinner was almost ready and you weren't home. I said I'd try to find you, and I move a lot faster as a Shinigami."

Karin sighed and turned back to the sunset. "I'm not hungry. Just go on home without me, I'll be there in a bit."

"Is everything okay, Karin?" Ichigo asked in a gruff voice. "Ever since the war ended, you've been…different. Quiet."

Karin glanced over at her brother in shock. Was he actually initiating a conversation about her feelings? "Are you feeling alright?"

He swatted her upside the head. "I'm allowed to worry about my little sister if I want to."

Karin spoke part of what was on her mind, also trying to subtly get information from him. "I just wonder if we'll ever see her again. Rukia-chan I mean. It was kinda nice having a sister a few years older than me."

Ichigo laughed. "She's more than a few years older than you, sis."

Karin looked at him curiously. "But she was in your class. She was 15 or 16, wasn't she?"

Ichigo shook his head. "The way I gained power so fast is very rare. It takes most Shinigami decades to get to the level I'm at." He said it without pride, simply stating the truth.

"Decades?" Karin looked at him in horror.

Not understanding why it bothered her so much, he replied. "Yeah, well, they age differently in Soul Society, so it's okay. I don't know exactly how old Rukia is, but I know she's been a Shinigami for about 40 years."

"40 years? And she looks like she's 16?" Karin stared at him. "Then To…" She rapidly cut herself off as she realized who she was talking to and recovered quickly. "So you're totally in love with an older woman."

Ichigo glared at her. "Rukia and I are just friends."

"But the way she picks on you, and the way you fight, that's what boys and girls do when they like each other as more than friends," Karin said as she turned to face him fully, not caring if anyone drove by and saw her talking to the air.

Ichigo laughed. "That may be something boys and girls do when they're your age, and some even still do it at my age, but Rukia doesn't think that way. She thinks like an adult, Karin. She may not act like one all the time, but she is one."

"And I thought he didn't like me because he never teased me or…" Karin trailed off in horror when she realized she'd just spoken her thoughts out loud. She'd been standing there for over half an hour before he arrived, thinking of Toshiro. Wondering if she would ever get to see him again. Wondering if the time they'd spent together had meant as much to him as it had to her. She'd assumed it hadn't, because of the way he'd treated her, but knowing he thought like an adult changed things. Although it gave her a whole different thing to worry about.

"Karin!" He looked at her sharply. "Is that what you've been obsessing over? A boy?"

"Have you ever liked someone, Ichi-nii? I mean, as more than friends?" Karin turned the tables to stop him from having a meltdown over the thought of his little sister liking a boy.

Ichigo turned bright red, and looked out at the sunset.

"I'm serious," Karin pushed.

"You're 12!" Ichigo snapped at her. "Way to young to be having this conversation."

"You're only four years older than me!" She snapped back. "Surely you can remember when you were 12! Are you telling me you didn't like anyone?"

"No, I never did." Ichigo was serious for once. "Everyone thought I was strange. No one liked me. I was too different. So of course I didn't like any of them."

"It's always been like that for me too. But there might be someone who…"

Ichigo gave her a curious look. "You've said you could never like a guy weaker than you. Or one who couldn't understand you or your life. Karin, you can see Hollows. You can see Shinigami. How could anyone understand…"

Karin glanced over in time to see a look of utter horror on his face before he choked on air. "I told Rukia not to keep bringing Renji around!" He said when he could speak again.

Karin burst out laughing. "No, no, not that oaf."

"Then who? What other Shinigami did you ever meet…" Ichigo couldn't think of any other than the people at the Urahara Shoten, and there was no way she'd… "Ishida?!?"

Karin could only laugh harder. "Ichi-nii, do you really want to know?"

Ichigo stopped babbling and looked his sister in the eye. "I know most of them better than you do. And I at least need to know who to kill if you get hurt."

Karin stopped laughing and measured her brother's face before replying, "No matter what happens, you have to promise not to kill him."

"I promise not to kill him," Ichigo repeated, envisioning the tortures he could inflict on him instead.

Karin sighed, knowing that if she didn't tell him he'd just follow her everywhere until he saw her with the guy, and replied in a soft voice, "Toshiro."

"Toshi…" Ichigo choked on the air again. "How did you run into him?"

"He helped me and my friends win a soccer game," Karin replied with a smile. "And then he saved us from a huge Hollow."

"He…" Ichigo trailed off. Although he certainly wasn't happy about it, she had at least in his opinion chosen the best of the captains as far as personality went. Not that he'd ever admit that to Hitsugaya. "I don't want to hear about this. I really…" Ichigo trailed off, and decided he just needed to be alone to think. "Look, I'll tell dad and Yuzu that you're at a friends. Get home before eight though, or I'll be out after you again. And as much as I don't want to hear about this, you can always tell me anything. But right now I just need time for it to settle so I don't go bankai on his ass."

Karin watched his rant in awe, and he was gone before she could even try to formulate a response. If she hadn't known better she would have sworn that was someone else in her brother's body; he'd been so uncharacteristically talkative. But she knew it was him.

Nearly a minute later, she spoke, although there was no one to hear her. "Bankai?'

TBC…

* * *

Omake - Radio Kon

Kon: So tonight our guest is Matsumoto Rangiku. The woman with the finest valley of bliss that I have ever seen. Let's hope she will be more accommodating than her taicho was. So, Rangiku, the first question from our fans is, "Who's your favorite drinking buddy?"

Rangiku: Wow, everybody, that's such a hard question. I suppose it depends on what mood I'm in when I'm drinking. When I wanna reminisce about fighting, no one is better than Renji. But if I just wanna chill out and get drunk, it's Shunsui all the way!

Kon: Makes sense to me. Next question: "Matsumoto-fukutaicho, what are your feelings on love? After all, you must be one of the most sought after women in Soul Society, yet you're not connected to anyone romantically."

Rangiku: Well, thank you so much for that assumption. Unfortunately, I'm one of those girls that guys see as another guy, or as a night of fun, so I can't speak much on love. Maybe if I ever care about someone who doesn't turn out to be a traitorous son of a…

Kon: Well, thanks for talking to us, Rangiku, but that's all the time we have tonight. Stay tuned for another episode of Radio Kon!

* * *

Glossary:

First off, for those who have never heard of the game "Never have I ever," (also called simply "I never") it's really easy. Each person takes turns saying something they've never done, and if the people they are playing with have done that thing they have to take a drink. If they haven't done them, they don't take one. It's a wonderful way to learn more about your friends, as long as they are being honest about it. (And the required disclaimer: Please only play this game with alcohol if you are legally old enough to do so.)

Sanbantai: Third Division. Formerly led by Ichimaru Gin, now under the temporary command of fukutaicho Kira Izuru until a new taicho can be found.

Gotei Juusantai: I've heard Gotei translated various ways, but "Thirteen Division Imperial Guards" is the most common. I believe the official dub uses "Thirteen Court Guard Squads." I've also heard of people using "Thirteen Court Protection Squads," as the first kanji used to write "Gotei" is one that means protection.

-nii: The shortened form of oniisan/oniichan, the suffix used for an older brother. The shortening of Ichigo's name combined with this suffix would be considered insanely cute.

Bankai: The most powerful released form of a zanpakuto, it's an externalizing of the spirit of the zanpakuto itself. Mastering Bankai is considered a requirement for being a taicho, Kenpachi being an exception. Some of the fukutaicho have bankai, as do a couple of lower seats, as does Ichigo. It takes most Shinigami at least a decade to master.


	3. Girl Talk

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I am making no money from this. Tite Kubo owns all, I'm just playing with them for a while. I also do not own any of the quotes I use at the start of each chapter. They were all found on the internet, and if they have an author I say who it is.

See all author's notes in part one. Also, this has just become the first story in a series I'm tentatively calling "After The Winter War." Full info on this is in my profile.

**Oh, and the first two parts of this story have been edited to include the "Omake - Radio Kon" bits that I originally planned on including and then completely spaced on. They're there now, and there will be an Omake part in each chapter after this. The next guest on Radio Kon will be Kurosaki Ichigo. Please feel free to ask him any questions as you leave reviews, or if you want to PM them to me that's cool as well.**

**

* * *

  
**

No Warm Memories

By Lady Callista

Chapter 3: Girl Talk

_OoOoOoOoOoO_

_I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape-_

_the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter._

_Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show._

_-Andrew Wyeth_

_OoOoOoOoOoO_

Karin almost chickened out as she approached the door, but she figured she'd comes this far, and she knew the girl on the other side of the door well enough to know she'd have a sympathetic audience. So she knocked.

"Karin-chan?" Orihime said as she opened the door. "Would you like to come in?"

"Thank you, Orihime-chan," Karin replied as she stepped in. "I'm sorry to call on you so late."

"It's alright," Orihime replied as she gestured for the girl to sit. "Would you like some tea?"

"Yes, thank you," Karin replied, wondering what had made her come here. The younger sister of a friend shows up late at night, and the girl hadn't even asked if anything was wrong. She was acting as if people stopped at her house all the time. Yet Karin had to be grateful for it, for of all the people she knew who might be able to tell her more about Soul Society, Orihime was the only one she could talk to about Toshiro. She knew Chad would have talked to her about Soul Society, but despite the whole 'I'll be the eyes, you be the legs,' thing, she barely knew him. Plus when you thought of someone to talk to he was certainly not the first person that came to mind.

"Would you like anything to eat?' Orihime asked as she knelt at the table opposite Karin and poured out green tea for both of them.

"I'm fine, don't concern yourself," Karin replied as she took an appreciative sniff of the tea. "I'm sorry for coming here, I shouldn't have…"

"Karin-chan, I'm glad you came to me," Orihime smiled as she sipped her tea. "Your brother said, well, Kurosaki-kun once asked me…well, with your mother gone and all, he said once that at some point you or Yuzu might want to talk to another girl. I told him I'd be okay with that."

Karin blushed, a feeling so strange for her that she tried to hide her reaction by burying her face her in her tea. "Thank you for the tea."

"You're very welcome," Orihime replied as she drank as well. "Are you here for anything in particular?"

"Well, there's this boy…" Karin took another drink of tea as she tried to formulate her thoughts. "Ichi-nii seemed like he was going to have a heart-attack when I mentioned it, but I don't know…I mean….I really need to talk to someone."

"Is it someone I know?" Orihime asked in her gentle way.

"Umm…maybe. Probably. Hitsugaya Toshiro." Karin's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Toshiro-taicho?" Orihime's voice didn't reflect nearly enough surprise for Karin.

"You don't sound like it's a surprise to you." Karin said suspiciously.

"Well, I know both of you, and I had thought about how cute a couple you would make…" Orihime trailed off, seeming embarrassed.

"I barely know him," Karin admitted. "Yet he's the only guy I've ever met that's made me wonder what it would be like to be more than friends with a guy. And then Ichi-nii had to go and tell me that he's actually a lot older than he looks, and…"

"Does that matter to you?'' Orihime asked quietly. "Did you like how he looked, or did you like his personality?"

"I don't care about how a guy looks," Karin said even as she blushed. "Although I certainly can't complain about how he looks. He just…I've always felt like I was so much older than any of my friends. I mean, I can see Ichi-nii when he's a Shinigami. I can see the Hollows, and I can see how you and some of Ichi-nii's other friends can see them too. It's so hard to care about the things people my age are supposed to care about when I know there's a war going on."

"The war is over," Orihime said with belief. "And your brother and the Shinigami won. The good guys won. You shouldn't have to worry about it anymore. It's why he didn't want to tell you anything, Karin-chan. You shouldn't have been worrying about something that wasn't your concern. Kurosaki-kun and the other Shinigami would never lose. There was never anything to worry about."

"If they knew they'd win, the fact that I assumed he'd been training in the month he was gone becomes pointless. But that's not what I came here to talk about," Karin replied as she finished her tea and poured more from the pot on the table. "Do you know Toshiro?"

"Yes, I know Toshiro-kun," Orihime replied. "When him and Rangiku-san were stationed in the real world they lived here with me."

Karin could only stare at the older girl for a moment, before asking, "Is he as cold with everyone else as he was with me?"

Orihime almost dropped her tea, but recovered quickly, "Well, he was never cold to me. The opinion I got was that he's very polite. He treated me as a hostess, in the oldest sense of the word. But I can see how he could be seen as cold. Think of how people react to you because of how you look, Karin-chan. You're a child, and adults treat you as such. Imagine how he must feel, to be older than most of the people he interacts with, yet to have them treat him as a child."

Karin was silent for a moment as she thought about that. When Ichigo had told her how Shinigami aged differently, all she'd thought of was that the boy she liked was decades older than her. She'd thought of it only from her perspective, not imagining how other people's views of him had shaped who he was. "Do you think it's wrong? That I like him even knowing he's so much older?"

"I don't think there is right or wrong when it comes to love," Orihime replied as she refilled her own tea cup. "If it works for the two of you that's what matters."

"Are you ever going to tell Ichi-nii how you feel about him?"

Orihime choked on her tea.

"Don't worry, he doesn't know and I'd never tell him." Karin smiled. "But you've always been there for him. And I've seen how you look at him. It's the same way I look at Toshiro."

Although Karin had said the last sentence in an embarrassed whisper, Orihime had heard her perfectly and knew exactly what she meant. Her mind worked furiously as she tried to figure out how to respond.

_If you'd tell him at least you'd stop having to wonder._

_You know how she feels, just talk about how it was for you…_

Karin looked up from her tea as she heard Orihime's voice, yet not Orihime's voice. This had happened on occasion around her brother, and like most things she wanted to deny she simply did so. She didn't know why thoughts randomly popped into her head, so like everything else she didn't want to deal with she just ignored them.

"It's not quite the same, Karin-chan." Orihime finally said in her quiet voice. "I've known your brother for years, and one of my best friends has been friends with him since he was five. You barely know Toshiro-kun, and…"

"But he's such an amazing guy." Karin said before she could help herself. "I mean, I only knew him for a few days, but every guy I've ever known has bored me after a day. After a day of knowing them, I've known I couldn't ever see them as more than a friend. But I dream about Toshiro, and…"

Orihime giggled as the younger girl trailed off. "I dream about Kurosaki-kun as well. But I know he doesn't feel the same way about me. Rukia-san…"

"Actually, he was telling me less than an hour ago that him and Rukia-chan are only friends." Karin smirked as the older girl's eyes grew wide.

Orihime thought about that for a moment, then tucked it away. She wasn't supposed to be thinking about herself right now. "Would it be okay with you if you were just friends with Toshiro-kun?"

"I don't know." Karin replied with a sigh. "I've never liked a guy before, I don't…what I mean is…geez, I can't even talk about him without stuttering. I think I just need to think this through on my own." She sighed and rose.

Orihime rose as well, following her to the door. "Did anything we talked about help?"

"Oh, yes, definitely." Karin was already lost in her own thoughts, and had almost forgotten the other girl until she spoke. "Thank you so much, Orihime-chan. I didn't know who else to talk to."

"You can come talk to me whenever you wish." Orihime smiled at Karin as the younger girl slid her shoes on and reached for the door.

"Thanks." Karin replied as she walked back out into the night.

It wasn't a long walk home, yet Karin made it longer by taking a route that would bring her by the soccer field. She knew he wouldn't be there. All the Shinigami except her brother were gone from the real world. But she just wanted to…

Karin stopped in shock a little bit away as she heard the sound of a ball being kicked, and she practically ran the last half-block to the field. She couldn't believe her eyes as they fell upon the boy with the spiky white hair.

Toshiro retrieved the ball from the net, then turned slowly as he felt Karin's presence. Face expressionless, he walked over to her. He'd gotten permission to come to the real world by saying he wanted to see Kurosaki about something. It wasn't his fault everyone had assumed he was talking about the substitute Shinigami.

"You're here." Karin whispered, shocked at running into him just when she was so deep in thought about him.

"There's no place in Soul Society to practice." Toshiro lied as he kicked the ball over to her.

Karin stopped it with her foot and just continued to stare at him.

Toshiro's cheeks turned red as she stared at him, and after a moment he spoke abruptly. "Wanna practice a little before it gets completely dark?"

Karin nodded, and giving the ball a kick to get it started began to dribble towards the goal.

TBC…

* * *

Omake - Radio Kon

Kon: And today we welcome one of my favorite people, the girl whose valley is…well…a thing to be worshipped. Orihime!!!

Kon's flying leap towards Orihime's arms stopped abruptly as he connected with Tatsuki's foot.

Orihime: Tatsuki, what are you doing here? You haven't even been in this story.

Tatsuki: I know, what's with that? I know I'm not as popular as you are, but there are still people who want to read about me. There must be.

Kon: Well, maybe some other time. The questions today are for Orihime. "Orihime, why don't you just tell Ichigo that you love him?"

Orihime: Well, um, that's kinda direct. I mean…

Kon: How about this one. "Orihime-chan, does you chest ever get the in the way of…"

Tatsuki: This is ridiculous. Let's go, Orihime.

Orihime: But I'm the guest tonight.

Tatsuki: But if you go home you get to make din=nner.

Orihime: That's right. I was thinking of this new meal, with red bean paste and wasabi and tofu and….

Kon: Well, that was a total failure. Why does no one take me seriously? Anyway, next time on Radio Kon our guest will be Kurosaki Ichigo. That should be a blast.


	4. First Date

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I am making no money from this. Tite Kubo owns all, I'm just playing with them for a while. I also do not own any of the quotes I use at the start of each chapter. They were all found on the internet, and if they have an author I say who it is.

See all author's notes in part one. Part of the series "After The Winter War." Full info on this series (not that there's much to it yet) is in my profile. And yeah, I think I may be getting a little OOC with both Toshiro and Karin; I don't really know how to make them work as a couple unless I do. Although since we've never seen either one of them have a crush on someone, maybe this is how they would act if they did. I mean, I remember how strange I acted in elementary school when I liked a boy…

**The first two parts of this story have been edited to include the "Omake - Radio Kon" bits that I originally planned on including and then completely spaced on. They're there now, and there will be an Omake part in each chapter. Most will be Radio Kon, a few will be other fun surprises. The next guest on Radio Kon will be Kurosaki Ichigo. Please feel free to ask him any questions as you leave reviews, or if you want to PM them to me that's cool as well.**

**

* * *

  
**

No Warm Memories

By Lady Callista

Chapter 4: First Date

_OoOoOoOoOoO_

_Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius._

_-Pietro Aretino_

_OoOoOoOoOoO_

"What are you doing out here, Orihime-chan?" Rangiku asked as she found the girl standing near the edge of a soccer field, hiding behind a tree.

"Shh…" Orihime said quickly as she motioned for the Shinigami to move next to her. "Karin-chan, ah, Kurosaki-kun's little sister came to my house to talk, and I just wanted to make sure she got home okay, so I kinda followed her. Oh, but…What are _you_ doing here? I thought you all went back to…"

"We did." Rangiku replied, her attention still on Orihime. "But Hitsugaya decided to come back for…a…something, and now he's hiding his reiatsu so I can't find him, and I need to…"

Orihime giggled, stopping the other girl from starting to rant. "Um, look behind you."

Rangiku spun around, not sure what she was expecting to find. It certainly wasn't her taicho in jeans and a polo shirt playing soccer with Kurosaki Karin.

Orihime giggled again at the shocked look on Rangiku's face. "I really should go home now, I'm sure he'll get her home safe, but they just look so cute. I don't think I've ever seen him smile before this."

Rangiku sighed and slung an arm around Orihime's shoulders. "I guess I can wait on what I wanted to tell him. Wanna go have some tea?"

Orihime smiled. "Sure."

OoOoOoOoOoO

Unaware of the two women who had been watching her, Karin dribbled past Toshiro before kicking the ball into the net.

Toshiro retrieved it and kicked it back over to her. She started towards him again, feinting left before spinning around to the right. But he'd seen her use that move several times already, so he was ready for it and blocked the goal.

Unfortunately, at that exact moment, he felt a third reiatsu joining the two that had been heading away, and didn't block as well as he should have. The ball reflected off his arm right back at Karin, catching her on the shoulder with a thump. He jogged over to her quickly as she made a rolling motion with her shoulder before wincing.

"Are you okay?" He asked quickly, reaching out to touch her shoulder without thought. She blushed and he quickly dropped his hand.

"Um, yeah, I think so." Karin replied as she rotated her arm again, more carefully than the first time. "It'll just be sore tomorrow."

"Uh, sorry." Toshiro mumbled even as he felt a flare of kido from his fukutaicho, followed immediately by another, different kido. He'd have to thank her and Inuoe later for heading Kurosaki off. Although he didn't like that they'd been spying on him, he hadn't wanted to alert Karin to their presence. Plus they'd been leaving on their own. But not having to deal with the substitute Shinigami was almost worth being spied on.

"It's okay." Karin replied, hoping the night hid how red her face was. Although his face was almost blank, there was something in his eyes that she couldn't identify. And for some reason the look made it hard for her to meet his eyes. "Not like I've never gotten hit by a ball before."

"Um…would you like to go get some ice cream or something?" Toshiro said quickly. He'd come to the human world with the sole purpose of seeing her, and instead had ended up kicking a soccer ball around by himself, trying to work up the nerve to go find her. That she'd walked by had been fortuitous, yet even as they'd fallen easily into the game he'd been unable to say anything to her. He was not a man of many words, and he was not a man who showed his feelings, and the thought that he was going to need both those things terrified him. Not that he would ever admit it.

"Sounds good." Karin answered quickly, astounded by the offer but not about to pass it up.

He nodded, and retrieved a bag to toss the ball into before slinging it over his shoulder. He motioned for her to take the lead, as he didn't know where he was going, and she headed off, thankfully not in the direction of those spying on them.

He turned for an instant to glare into the darkness at the three spies, then turned away and caught up to Karin. They walked in silence for a few minutes, and when he was sure they were not being followed, he managed to say, "So, uh, how have you been?"

Karin smirked. "Oh, same old, same old. School, soccer, Hollow killing."

Toshiro stopped walking, the lines going across his forehead the only sign that he was frowning.

"Kidding." Karin said as she stopped as well. "Do you really think Ichi-nii would let me do that?"

"You don't strike me as a person who always listens to what people tell them." Toshiro replied. "You did try to take out a huge Hollow with a soccer ball, after all, even after I'd told you to run away."

"It usually works." Karin mumbled, before saying louder, "Well, how was I to know if you could kill it or not?"

"If we are ever in that situation again, will you promise to let me handle it?" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, and he felt his cheeks heat up. He knew he sounded too concerned for someone who had only met her a few times.

"Don't see why it matters, but sure." Karin replied. "If we're ever in a situation again where I can't destroy the Hollow myself, I'll let you handle it. It's not like it'll happen though. You live in…hey, yeah, why are you here anyway?"

Toshiro wondered if she could hear his teeth grinding together. "I told you, there's no where to play soccer in Seireitei. And that wasn't the promise I asked you to make." Although he'd been embarrassed when the words first slipped out, now he was annoyed at her interpretation of what he'd asked. He knew that she knew exactly what he'd meant.

Karin rolled her eyes at him, yet was surprised with how he was handling this. Ichigo had more or less ordered her to never try fighting a Hollow again, and Toshiro had been correct earlier that she wasn't always one to listen to what people told her. Especially when they were trying to order her around.

Yet Toshiro hadn't told her not to try fighting them, only that if he was around to let him handle it. And he hadn't ordered her, he'd asked. She didn't know if it was intentional on his part, if somehow he understood her that well, or if he would have said it that way to anyone.

She glanced over at him. It cost her nothing to agree, it wasn't like he was going to be in Karakura Town much, unless he was in the mood for soccer. Although from some of the things Rukia-chan had said, she was surprised he was here at all. It hadn't sounded like Shinigami were in the real world that often, especially the high-ranking ones, which she remembered he was. What had the strawberry blond who'd been almost falling out her gi called him? Taicho? That had to be pretty important. Which reminded her…

"I promise, if you answer a question for me." Karin said finally as they turned into the ice cream shop.

He glanced over at her and nodded as he opened the door for her.

She stood there for an instant, waiting for him to go through, and was surprised when he tipped his head towards the shop's interior with a questioning look on his face. When she realized he had opened the door for her, she quickly blushed and went through. He was treating her like a girl. No one had ever really done that before, and she didn't know if she liked it or not.

Toshiro followed her into the shop, his eyes widening at the number of flavors he saw. He'd only had ice cream once, and it had come from the single tub in Inuoe's freezer. He hadn't know there were this many kinds of it.

Karin was already scanning down the list, trying to figure out what she was in the mood for, when she saw him staring blankly at it. "Don't know what you want?"

Toshiro shook his head. He wasn't even sure what all the flavors were, as there were many more types of food on earth than there were in Soul Society.

"Well, what do you like?" Karin asked even as she narrowed down what she felt like eating. Probably chocolate chip, or maybe mint chocolate, or…cookie dough, yummy!

Toshiro glanced at the tubs she seemed to be focused on. "Mint maybe. I know I like it at least."

Karin giggled even as she smiled at the woman behind the counter. "I'd like a mint and a cookie dough fudge mint chip please. Cones."

The woman nodded and began making them.

Karin reached into her pocket for money, only to be startled as Toshiro's hand touched hers lightly. Her eyes flew over to him as he placed a black wallet into her hands.

"I don't really understand how your money works." Toshiro mumbled. "But as I asked you to come here, I will pay for them."

"Soul…uh…" She glanced quickly at the woman behind the counter before rephrasing, "You guys don't use money?" She didn't think the woman could hear them, mumbling as they were, but didn't want to get asked any odd questions.

Also aware they could be overheard, Toshiro's reply was, "We do, it's just…different." He watched her eyes widen as she took in the amount of money in the wallet.

"And apparently you get paid well." Karin replied as she took out a bill to pay for the ice cream as the woman handed it to her, then slid the change back into the wallet before handing it and his ice cream to him.

They headed back outside into the cool night air. "Um, thank you." Karin blushed even as she said it, gesturing to the ice cream.

He gave her an almost-smile. "I take it the question you want to ask in exchange for your promise couldn't be asked in there."

"Um, no." Karin replied, now nervous about asking the question. But even since Ichigo had told her that Shinigami aged differently she'd been unable to get it out of her head.

"Well?"

"Howoldareyou?" The question came out in a rush, and she looked away from him even as she focused intently on eating her ice cream.

Toshiro sighed, sitting down at a picnic table in the park next to the ice cream shop. She joined in, carefully not looking at him. "Who have you been talking to?"

"Um…well, Ichi-nii mentioned that you guys age differently, and he told me that Rukia-chan has been a Shinigami for over 40 years, so…" Karin's voice was so uncharacteristically soft that he could barely hear her.

"Most people enter Soul Society at the same age they died at. People can also be born in Soul Society. But yes, once there we age differently." This was one of the main things he hadn't wanted to tell her, but she did have a right to know. At least if whatever he felt for her kept getting stronger, and assuming of course she felt the same way. Which from the number of times she'd blushed since he started talking to her he thought she might. "I've been a Shinigami for less years than Kuchiki Rukia, although not that many less years."

Karin finally glanced over at him. "That's kinda weird. Although I understand now why you kept yelling at us when we thought you were an elementary school student."

"You certainly weren't the only ones to think it." Toshiro sighed. "Physically, I'm about the same age as you are. But people in Soul Society don't really treat you by how you look, because we've all lived for so long. I am the youngest Shinigami ever, but at the same time it's hard for them to treat me as a child when they've known me for 30 years."

Unless they were teasing him about it, he thought to himself, but there was no need to tell her of that.

Karin nodded thoughtfully, although it still creped her out to think that the guy she liked was that much older than her. "I guess that makes sense."

Toshiro could tell that finding out how old he was disturbed her, but couldn't think of how to ask her why that was. It did really drive home the point that he shouldn't be here though. He shouldn't be spending time with her. Not only was he keeping her from spending time with other people, people who weren't, well, dead, but he was causing more and more complications in her life. He knew Kurosaki would be all over her about him as soon as she returned home. And now he was telling her that he was, in effect, an adult, yet he was hanging out with her as a child would.

He already liked her too much. Especially since nothing could ever come of them being a couple. He needed to just walk away, before it got any worse. He'd also noticed that the cold inside him, the cold that he'd lived with from the moment he entered Soul Society, was starting to lessen. And that actually worried him more than anything else. That cold was his power, was who he was, and without it…

"What did you say?" Karin asked, her attention suddenly turning from her ice cream and her own inner musings as she heard his voice, although it sounded strange.

"I didn't say anything." Toshiro looked at her in confusion. "Although I do have to be going soon, so we should start walking towards your place."

Karin only nodded, now looking confused herself. "I, uh, I must have heard someone walking by." She said hurriedly as she rose and polished off the rest of her cone.

He only nodded as he rose with her and started the short walk to her house.

"So, uh, when are you coming back?" Karin asked when they were only a few houses away.

Toshiro kept his face and voice emotionless. "I don't know."

Karin glanced up at him, wondering why he was suddenly so different. He'd somewhat opened up to her while they were talking before, but now he was acting exactly like he had when she'd first met him. Until she'd asked him that question, they'd been walking in silence for almost five minutes.

"Um, well, I guess I'll see you around then." She said as they stopped in front of her house.

"Maybe." Toshiro replied as he turned and walked away. It was harder than it should have been, but he knew he had to do this. It would be easier on them both in the long run.

Karin slid quietly into her house and made it up to her room without anyone stopping her.

Once there, she flopped down on the bed, two sentences running around and around in her head. She believed him that he hadn't spoken, which meant what she'd heard had been that same weird thing that happened around Ichigo, and just earlier when she'd been with Orihime.

She'd thought at first with Ichigo that maybe somehow she could read his mind, and had ignored it as thoroughly as she used to ignore spirits. That had seemed possible with Orihime as well, but this had been different. What she'd heard couldn't have been his thoughts, unless for some reason he thought in the third person and had a split personality. And she had no idea what it meant.

_He thinks he will lose me if he is not completely like me, but I will always be at the core of his being. His ice may melt to water, but that is simply another face of ice, and can always change back when it needs to._

TBC…

* * *

Omake - Society of Female Shinigami

"Yachiru-fukutaicho, why are the names of all the male taicho on the blackboard?" Rukia asked as she arrived first at the meeting.

Yachiru giggled as most of the other women came into the room. "Well, today's activity will be to rank them."

"Rank them?" Rangiku asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, well, I know no one will beat Ken-chan, but I don't know how the rest of it will go." Yachiru replied even as she put a number 1 next to Kenpachi's name.

"Are we ranking how powerful they are?" Nanao asked with a smirk. "Because if we rank them by how much they can drink then my taicho will win."

Yachiru giggled again. "No, silly, not how powerful or how much they can drink."

"Are we ranking them in the order you like them?" Rangiku asked, which would make sense if Kenpachi was first.

"No, no." Yachiru replied. "Why would a group of girls rate them on anything but how cute they are?"

There were groans all around.

* * *

Glossary:

Kido: literally "spirit way" or "demon way," these are the spells Shinigami cast. Most fall into the categories of either binding or destruction.


	5. Passing the Time

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I am making no money from this. Tite Kubo owns all, I'm just playing with them for a while. I also do not own any of the quotes I use at the start of each chapter. They were all found on the internet, and if they have an author I say who it is.

AN: See all author's notes in part one. Part of the series "After The Winter War."

**Also, there is now a poll on my profile page. Please go and vote for which story in the series you want written next. **

**

* * *

  
**

No Warm Memories

By Lady Callista

Chapter 5: Passing the Time

_OoOoOoOoOoO_

_A life without love is like a year without summer._

_-Swedish proverb_

_OoOoOoOoOoO_

Toshiro closed the door to Momo's room behind him as he entered quietly. A few days had passed since he visited Karin, and he'd been doing everything in his power to keep from thinking about her. He'd even stopped bugging Matsumoto about doing her paperwork, because doing hers as well gave him less time to think.

And thinking was bad right now.

Because every time he started thinking, he became less certain that he'd made the right choice walking away from Karin. He knew he'd had to do it. He knew it was the right choice for them. But every time he thought about it, he wondered if there was a way it could work. If there was something he could do to make it work. Because he wanted to make it work.

But then again he wanted Momo to talk to him again, and that didn't seem likely either.

"Hi Momo, how are you doing?" He asked as he crossed the room and sat on her bed. She was sitting in the room's only chair and staring out the window. She didn't acknowledge his presence, but he was used to that by now.

She hadn't spoken since the war against Aizen ended. She'd fought well in that war, in fact she'd saved Matsumoto's life, but it was like once the battle ended whatever had been driving her had just vanished. She was currently a patient at the Yonbantai's barracks, although patient might have been the wrong word for it as Unohana-taicho couldn't actually do anything to help her. Everyone was pretty much just waiting for her to snap out of it on her own. They weren't sure if that would ever happen though.

"Sorry I haven't been by to see you for a few days, but I've had a lot of paperwork and stuff. You know how it is." Visiting his friend and seeing her like this was always so hard on Toshiro. He felt like he should talk to her but never knew what to say. He wasn't even sure if she was hearing him, or if she had retreated so far into her own mind that she didn't even register when people were around her. "The Gobantai are doing pretty well. I oversaw a few hours of their sparring this afternoon, and Abarai-fukutaicho is with them now, helping the 3rd and 4th seats with the paperwork. I'm sure he's hating every minute of it; no one was more surprised than I was when he said he'd help them. Kira-fukutaicho is helping as well, but since he's running the Sanbantai by himself he has less free time."

Toshiro shifted, stretching out his back muscles. He'd been leaning over a desk far too much lately. "I went to the real world a few days ago to see Karin." The words were out of his mouth before he'd even thought them. Not that it really mattered, it wasn't like Momo was going to tell anyone. It was almost like talking to yourself, yet you didn't have to feel like you were crazy.

"She's Kurosaki's little sister, and she can see Hollows and Shinigami. She also plays soccer, and has a mean kick" A ghost of a smile flickered over Toshiro's face. "Do you remember when we lived in the Rukongai, and we'd see the kids playing soccer sometimes? I always wanted to join in, so I made you practice with me so I'd be good." He left unsaid that none of the other kids had cared if he was good or not. They'd always been uncomfortable around him, and since they didn't like him they'd never let him play.

"I played a game with Karin and her friends a while back when I was in the real world. And I spent some time with her. She's so amazing, Momo. A Hollow showed up after the game was over, and she kicked her soccer ball at it. She actually transferred some of her reiatsu to the ball, although I don't think she knew it. Had it been a weak Hollow, I think she could have actually destroyed it. She wasn't even scared. It reminded me of one of the stories you told me about when you were in the Academy. How you and Abarai and Kira went back to fight after you'd been ordered away. How you couldn't see something bad and not try to destroy it. That's how she is too. She's not quiet like you are though, she's a tomboy with a very loud mouth. Although knowing how her brother is and having met her father I'm not surprised. I think I'm falling in love with her. And I have absolutely no idea what to do about it."

There. He'd finally said it out loud. Not that saying it really changed anything. He sighed, and crossed the room to place a light kiss on her forehead. "I think I understand why you just sit here. It's so much easier than having to deal with the problems of life. If you just sit there, no one can hurt you. No one can get inside your walls and make you care about them. You only have to worry about yourself. So sit here for as long as you want, Momo. But I'm going to keep stopping by and talking to you. And when you're ready to rejoin the world, let me know." And with those words he left her room, heading back towards the Juubantai's barracks.

He was about halfway back when a singsong voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Oi, tai-cho!"

Hitsugaya stopped with a sigh, turning to face Matsumoto. "Yes?"

"Glad to see you out of the office for once." Matsumoto said with a smirk. "Now come with me."

"Why?" Hitsugaya queried. "What's going on?"

"We're going to spar."

"Excuse me?" Hitsugaya's eyebrows rose. "What brought this on?"

"I've been sparing with the Juubantai all afternoon. I'm bored." Matsumoto replied. "It takes a dozen of them to even be a slight challenge."

"I'm aware of that. How many do you think it takes for me?" Hitsugaya shot back. "But why do you want to spar in the first place? Shouldn't you be out drinking or something?"

"Let's just say I never want to get my ass kicked as badly as it was by those three bitches." Matsumoto replied. "I've been training for bankai on and off for the past twenty years, but I always get lazy and stop. I need something to push me. Someone to really challenge me."

Hitsugaya could only stare at her in shock. The only thing that would have surprised him more would have been her volunteering to do paperwork.

Then Matsumoto smirked. "Plus I'm pretty sure you could use the distraction."

He glared at her for a moment, even though he knew she was right. Then he sighed, "Lead the way. Although if you want to train for bankai, we should clear the training area."

"Already done." Matsumoto smirked again as they headed to the sparing field.

_OoOo Meanwhile, in the real world oOoO _

"Why couldn't we just get candy at the store by the house?" Karin grumbled as her and Yuzu stopped in front of Urahara Shoten.

"But there's this one chocolate they only have here, and it's so good." Yuzu replied as they walked into the store. "Ichi-nii really liked it the last time I got it, and he's been in such a weird mood lately that I wanted to surprise him."

Karin chose not to comment on Ichigo's mood. She'd more or less avoided her brother for the past several days, and to her surprise he hadn't insisted she stop thinking about Toshiro or anything stupid like that. In fact he hadn't brought it up at all. He seemed preoccupied by something else, although she had no idea what that could be.

"Greetings, and welcome to…oh, ah, Kurosaki-chan." Jinta stuttered out the last.

"Oh, hi Jinta-kun." Yuzu smiled brightly at him while Karin rolled her eyes.

"What are you here for?" Jinta asked as he almost tripped over himself getting over to her. "Cause we just got some new candies in, and…"

Karin wandered away from them, looking randomly down various aisles. Then froze as she heard a voice she was unfamiliar with. And this time she was certain she heard it only in her mind.

_Need to let me play more often. I get bored._

Without conscious thought she started walking through the shop again, and it was then that she noticed a trap door in the floor. Her feet had led her directly to it. She was just about to bend down and lift it when she heard a voice.

"Ah, that area is not for customers." Urahara said from behind her.

She spun around to face him. Karin knew he was a Shinigami, but didn't know anything beyond that. Had the strange voice in her head been his? But no, it had sounded more female. More playful.

"What's down there?" She asked rudely.

"Oh, nothing much." Urahara replied as he put a hand on her shoulder and moved her away. "I just store some things down there."

_Not as strong as her brother, but with training maybe she could…_

Now that had definitely been his voice. "Did you train Ichigo?"

Urahara froze for an instant, then started walking again, this time directing her to the furthest corner of the shop from her sister. "Train Kurosaki-san in what, my child?"

Karin stared up at him, wishing she could see his eyes. "I can see Shinigami, Urahara-san. I can see Hollows too; I've killed Hollows. And I want to know if you trained Ichigo. Because if you did, I want to ask you to train me as well."

"You might just be more blunt than your brother, something I wasn't sure was possible." Urahara said with a sigh. "Why do you want to be trained? Or, more importantly, what do you want to practice? You're not strong enough to be a Shinigami, Kurosaki-chan."

"I'm assuming Ichi-nii's friends aren't either, but they seem to be trained in something. I don't care if I can be a Shinigami. But I know I have to be able to do something! Ichigo's always worrying about me and Yuzu, but he's got so much else to do. I want to be able to take care of my family. And my friends." And I want to show off to Toshiro when he comes back.

"You sound just like your brother." Urahara sighed, then called out to Jinta, "Jinta, could you take Kurosaki Yuzu-chan home, please? Her sister just remembered some plans she has and doesn't want her walking home alone."

As Jinta almost crowed with joy and Karin said a few words to her sister, Urahara could only sigh again. He knew that she'd try to train herself whether he agreed to help her or not, and at least this way he knew she'd be safe. He knew she'd continue trying to fight Hollows whether he agreed to help her or not, and at least this way she'd have all the information and training she needed.

Training teenagers, or in Karin's case, a pre-teen, to fight Hollows. Why was he always the one who got stuck doing it? It was almost enough to make him agree to returning to Seireitei.

TBC…

* * *

Omake - Radio Kon

Kon: Unfortunately, Kurosaki Ichigo was unable to make it tonight. Although maybe that's a good thing, as no one has written in with any questions for him. Why does no one pay attention to my show? Waaaa! Why don't you love me? I'm just the cutest thing ever, after all, well, unless Yuzu has put me in one of those pink dresses, or glued a heart on my ear, but I guess even then I'm cute, just not in the way I want to be. She certainly thinks I'm cute, and even though Nee-sama always kicks me when I want to hug her I know she thinks I'm cute too, and….wait…what do you mean I'm out of time? Ahhh!

* * *

Glossary:

Yonbantai: 4th Division, the Healers, Unohana's division

Gobantai: 5th Division, the one Hinamori is fukutaicho of.

Juubantai: 10th Division, Hitsugaya Toshiro's division


	6. Giving In

Disclaimer: Kubo is god. Kubo is king. Tite Kubo owns everything. Except the quotes used at the start of each chapter. They were all found on the internet, and if they have an author I say who it is.

AN: See all author's notes in part one. _So I've tried to be original with Karin's powers. To my knowledge, no one else has done her this way. Please let me know what you think of her, as I've put a great deal of time and thought into what her powers could be. I'm also trying really hard to not have her cross into Mary-Sue-ism._

**There is a poll on my profile page. Please go and vote for which story in the series you want written next. **

**

* * *

  
**

No Warm Memories

By Lady Callista

Chapter 6: Giving In

OoOoOoOoOoO

Then followed that beautiful season... Summer...

Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape

Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

OoOoOoOoOoO

"So can I do something today other than try to hit you with a soccer ball?" Karin asked as she sat down next to Urahara and began stretching. She knew she was in good shape, yet Urahara has decided that some physical training should come first. He'd said that until she showed a specific power she should just get better at what she did.

She'd probably kicked her soccer ball at him about five thousand times in the past week. And finally, yesterday, she'd managed to hit him. Although her celebration had been short lived, as he'd merely said she'd done well, then said he was going to use something called shunpo. She'd barely been able to see him move after that, let alone hit him.

"Well, I could try to teach you to transfer some of your reiatsu to the ball. You do it occasionally by accident, but you should learn to do it on purpose. Because although it's true that all you need to do to kill a Hollow is smash it's mask, for stronger Hollows just the impact of the ball won't be enough. You'll need your reiatsu behind it."

Karin nodded as she continued to warm-up. "Do you train humans often, Urahara-san?"

He chuckled. "Not often, no. There are very few humans with enough power to warrant training."

"Why is that?" Karin asked.

"Well, no one really knows why humans sometimes manifest more power than is normal for them." Urahara said slowly. "Although in your case, I can be 99% certain that it's because of your brother. Because of Kurosaki-san's inability to control his strong reiatsu, many of the humans close to him have come into powers. But the shape of those powers, and the choice of if and how to use them, differs for each person."

"You're talking about Chad and Orihime-chan, aren't you?"

Urahara nodded. "Sado-san, who is physically strong, has a power that reflects his strength. His attacks are basically just brute force."

Karin nodded. "The first time I saw it, he was saving me from a Hollow. He couldn't see it, so I was hanging onto his back and telling him where it was. Then his arm just…changed…and he could see it. Then this burst of…reiatsu, you call it, right?…well, it just shot out of his arm."

Urahara sighed. "Exactly. What he knew was fighting with his fists, so his arms became his power. And then there's Inoue-san. She dislikes hurting people or seeing them hurt, so she manifested a power to heal and shield. She does have offensive capabilities, and is capable of killing Hollows, but she almost never does. Her friends are so much stronger offensively that it's better for her to use her powers to heal. Better for both the group as a whole and for her own peace of mind."

"And I'm like her in that I'm sure the others are stronger than me. But I don't care if I'm not the strongest." Karin said, still stretching out muscles that were sore from a week of Urahara's training. "I just don't want Ichigo to have to worry about me all the time. And I want to be able to defend myself and Yuzu when Ichigo and his friends aren't around."

"You don't plan on fighting alongside them?" Urahara asked in surprise. "Not that I think you should, especially without knowing what your powers entail, but…"

"Well, that's kinda why I asked about humans and powers." Karin interrupted him. "I might know what mine is, but I have no idea what to do with it. I'm not even sure it's a power really, maybe lots of Shinigami can do it, but…"

Urahara cocked his head in curiosity as she trailed off.

"I…sometimes I can hear what people think." Karin said quickly. "It's why I asked you last week out of the blue if you had trained Ichigo. I heard you thinking about it."

Urahara was silent for nearly two minutes, and Karin wondered if he was replaying their conversation in his head. Her assumption was confirmed when he asked a moment later, his voice fill with surprise, "Do you remember exactly what you heard?"

"Not word for word." Karin admitted. "But it was something about how I wasn't as strong as my brother, but that maybe with training…"

"Can you control this ability?" Urahara interrupted her.

"I've never tried." Karin replied. "It just happens, usually when the person I'm with has stopped talking to me. Like when they're thinking really hard about what they're going to say next."

"This happens with everyone?"

"No, mostly with Ichigo." Karin replied as she thought about it. "Orihime-chan once. You, both when I asked about you training Ichigo, and a few days ago when we were down here training. And the day I asked you to train me, I thought I heard a female voice from the trapdoor, that's how I found it."

"But never Sado-san? Or Yuzu-chan or Jinta?"

"No." Karin replied, wondering why it mattered. Although realizing he was thinking of something made her want to be completely honest. "Oh, and I heard…another Shinigami once, but it was different. It was like the voice was speaking to me."

"That should not be possible." Urahara stated flatly. "Who was it?"

"Um…Toshi…I mean…Hitsugaya-taicho." Karin blushed. "But wait, you said it shouldn't be possible, does that mean you have an idea of what I'm doing?"

"I have a theory, although it should not be possible." Urahara replied cryptically. "And if you really think Hitsugaya-taicho's voice was speaking to you, well, that _really_ should be impossible."

"What is it?"

Urahara ignored her question. "I want you to do something for me. Close your eyes, and think of me. Try to picture me in your mind. Think of how my reiatsu feels. And listen."

Karin looked at him suspiciously, but closed her eyes and concentrated on the strange shopkeeper.

'_Benihime, can you speak to this girl?' _Urahara asked in the silence of his mind.

_I will speak to no one but you._

'_But _could_ you speak only for her ears? Would she hear you? Does she hear you now?'_

_I believe so. She is somehow aware of me._

Karin's gasp brought Urahara out of his mental conversation, and he glanced over to her. "What did you hear?"

"I heard 'no one but you,' then a pause, then, 'I believe so. She is somehow aware of me.'"

Urahara sighed. "It's as I thought. You're not hearing my thoughts, you're hearing the voice of my zanpakuto. Those last two sentences you heard were her reply to me asking if she could speak to you the same way she can speak to me."

"So why could I hear her?"

"I have no idea. Our zanpakuto are reflections of our souls. They've chosen to be part of us, to join with us. No one else should ever hear them. They're personal, private." Urahara replied. "Do you hear anything _else_ I should know about?"

"Not really." Karin blushed at the reprimand in his voice. "But Hollows give me a headache. It's like this piercing pain going through the back of my skull."

"That's likely connected." Urahara sighed. "You're probably hearing the soul of the Hollow, either crying out in pain or in it's lust for other souls."

"Well, that's cheery." Karin deadpanned.

"I'll have to look more into your ability; I've never heard of anything like this. Although the same was true of Sado-san and Inoue-san when I first met them. For now though, let's continue with your training. I'm going to teach you how to focus your reiatsu…"

_OoOo Meanwhile, in Seireitei oOoO_

"She's awake?" Toshiro asked Unohana-taicho in shock as she stopped him outside Momo's door. A week had passed since he'd told his childhood friend he was in love with Karin, yet it was only a day since he'd last seen her. "What happened?"

"Ah…one of her friends dropped by this morning." Unohana said tactfully. "When I went in to tell him it was time to leave, I found Hinamori crying in his arms. They were in there for hours, and when he left she looked at me and asked me if she could have some lunch."

"That's wonderful." Toshiro said, emotion showing in his voice. "Do you think it's alright for me to visit, or should I leave her be for now?"

"Well, that depends on how she reacts to you." Unohana replied. "I trust you'll be able to tell if your presence is helpful or harmful."

Toshiro nodded, then slowly opened the door to the room and stepped inside. "Hinamori?"

"Shiro-chan." He was greeted with a giggle. "You call me Momo when you aren't sure that I can hear you, but now we're back to Hinomori."

"Bed-wetter Momo." Toshiro replied, a grin almost coming to his face. "Is that better?"

Momo sighed. "How are you doing?"

"That's supposed to be my question." Toshiro replied as he moved to the window to stand beside her. She was still staring out the window, as she'd been every time he'd come to visit her, only this time he could tell her eyes were actually seeing what was out there.

"Have you seen Kurosaki-chan again?" Momo still didn't look at him.

Toshiro could almost regret that he'd told her about Karin. "No. There's no future there. It will be easier on her if I just never see her again."

"You think so?" Momo said, a curious look coming to her face. "I've just learned that someone besides you loves me. Not as a sister or a best friend, but _loves me _loves me. It's the only thing I can think of that would have made me care about the world again."

"But it's another Shinigami." Toshiro replied, for the moment not even caring who it was. Both Unohana and Momo had been careful not to say, and Toshiro respected that. "It's someone you can be with. Karin and I can never be together. Not unless I stop being a Shinigami, or unless she dies."

"Forget about all the rules for a moment, Toshiro." Momo replied, her gaze finally meeting his. "A week ago, you said you thought you were falling in love with her. Don't think about the rules, or the reasons it can't work. Just think about her. Do you want to be with her?"

Toshiro was silent for almost a minute, then whispered, "Yes."

"Then go see her. Make it happen. Even if it ends up not working out, at least you'll have tried. At least she'll know how you feel about her." Momo said gently.

Toshiro shook his head. "No one but you could convince me this is a good idea."

Momo laughed. Although it was brief, it was her real laugh, and Toshiro treasured hearing it again.

"Then it's a good thing I'm here, isn't it?" Momo asked, the laughter still in her voice.

Toshiro nodded. "I'm glad you're feeling better. I missed you."

"I missed you to, Shiro-chan."

"It's Hitsugaya-taicho."

_OoOo Late that night, in the real world oOoO_

"Who are you?" Karin asked as she faced the cloaked figure. It and her were the only living things she saw as she looked across the huge expanse of desert that surrounded them.

"I am you." The figure replied. Although it didn't seem to have moved, Karin could swear it was closer to her than it had been a moment ago.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You've never wanted to hear my voice. You've always denied me. Yet now you wish to use me. Why?"

"You're my power!" Karin whispered in awe. "The voice I hear in others. The voice of the soul. You're mine!"

The cloaked figure nodded. "You're finally listening to me. You've heard and used me subconsciously all your life, but you've refused to hear me consciously. You've denied me and your power."

"I have?" Karin asked as she tried unsuccessfully to peer under the figure's hood.

"You wished to not have people worry about you. To never cause problems. To take care of yourself." The voice was gentle. "To do that, you had to understand people. To know the mood they were in, so you would know what you could say that would neither upset or worry them. You had to know their personality, so that you'd know the best way to approach them. You've always known exactly what to say to everyone, and when and how to say it, haven't you?"

"I suppose so." Karin thought about it. "I just assumed everyone could do it."

"Not at all." The cloaked figure replied. "Learn my name, and know your true power. Work with me, and you can achieve all that you seek."

Karin listened with bated breath.

"I am Kyokon. Written with the kanji for mirror and soul. You already use Tamashii no Mado, and as you were taught today, only need to concentrate on the person to make it work. You will learn of our other powers in time, but for now Tamashii no Mado is all you need. Wake, child. And listen."

Karin startled awake, and although she rarely remembered her dreams, she remembered every second of this one. And knew that it was more than a dream.

"Kyokon." She whispered into the night. Then froze as she sensed a presence other than Yuzu in the room with her.

She looked to the window, and found Toshiro in Shinigami form inside the room, leaning against the window frame and looking directly at her. "Toshiro?"

"Karin." Toshiro's voice betrayed nothing. "Will you take a walk with me?"

TBC…

* * *

**For the story of how Hinomori Momo stopped being a zombie, stayed tuned for the first one-shot in the After the Winter War series, "In Times That She Cried," which should be posted later this week.**

**

* * *

**Omake - Radio Kon

Kon: So, thank you all for joining us tonight. Tonight's guest is Kurosaki Ichigo, the most…wait, um…the second....no, actually, the third most popular Bleach character.

Ichigo: WHAT? I'm not the most popular? When did that happen?

Kon: Um, somewhat recently. So anyways…

Ichigo: No, wait. Who's the most popular then?

Kon: Um, well, it seems to be, umm, Hitsugaya-taicho.

Ichigo: NO WAY! That short little….first he steals my ranking….then he wants to steal my sister…then….AHHHHHH! BAN-KAI!

Kon: And that's all the time we have tonight. Stay tuned for our next broadcast, when our guest will be Ichigo's sister Kurosaki Kari…ahhh…Ichigo…NO…AIIIIII!

* * *

Glossary:

Benihime: Urahara's zanpakuto. The translation is "Crimson Princess"

Kyokon: Written using the kanji for mirror (kagami / 鏡 ) and soul (tamashii / 魂 ). This is the name of Karin's power, and was created by me for this story.

Tamashii no Mado: Literally "Soul's Window" or "Window of the Soul," Karin's ability that allows her to hear the souls of others.


	7. Melting the Ice

Disclaimer: Kubo is god. Kubo is king. Tite Kubo owns everything. Except the quotes used at the start of each chapter. They were all found on the internet, and if they have an author I say who it is.

AN: See all author's notes in part one. Finally a long, totally HitsuKarin chapter. Thanks to all of you for sticking with me so far. My first real foray into the Bleach fandom has been successful enough that I think I'll stay. And double thanks to those of you who take the time to review and let me know that enough people are liking this story to make it worth me continuing to write it. This part is for you…

"**In Times That She Cried," the one-shot of how Momo stopped being a zombie, is now up. Feedback on it would be welcome, as no one has reviewed it yet.**

**The poll on my profile page is now closed. Check out the omake for which story will be coming after this one concludes, which will be at least 2 or 3 more parts, I think/hope. Not many people voted, but that means the ones who took the time to do so get what they want.**

**

* * *

  
**

No Warm Memories

By Lady Callista

Chapter 7: Melting the Ice

_OoOoOoOoOoO_

_In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer._

_-Albert Camus_

_OoOoOoOoOoO_

Karin looked to the window, and found Toshiro inside the room, leaning against the window frame and looking directly at her. "Toshiro?"

"Karin," Toshiro's voice betrayed nothing. "Will you take a walk with me?"

Still not completely awake, Karin gaped at him as she glanced down at her alarm clock. "A walk? It's three in the morning!"

"I know," Toshiro looked abashed and slightly guilty. "But it's the only time I could get away."

Taking a quick glance at a still sleeping Yuzu, Karin climbed out of her bed and joined him by the window, whispering, "You're not supposed to be here, are you?"

Toshiro shook his head even as he climbed out the window and balanced effortlessly on the slanted roof.

"Then why are you here?" Karin hissed.

His only reply was to hold out his hand to her. His face was expressionless, which she knew by now was normal for him, but his teal eyes held hers intensely.

Karin grabbed her coat from the back of her chair, shrugging into it quickly before taking his hand and stepping out onto the roof. Her cheeks pinked as he didn't release her, but she made no move to pull her hand away. "So, now what?" She asked as she glanced at the ground.

The corner of his mouth tipped up in his trademark almost-smile and he released her hand. "Don't all humans dream of flying?"

Karin's eyes widened in shock as he moved his zanpakuto so that it hung over his chest, then turned and crouched down slightly to offer her his back.

Karin wrapped her arms carefully around his neck, her blush growing even brighter as their bodies came into almost full contact.

Feeling his body tense, she asked, "Ready?"

"Whenever you are." Toshiro said as he enjoyed the feeling of her pressed against him.

Karin jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist. He didn't weigh much more than she did, but he held her effortlessly. Not that she was surprised.

"Hold on tight." Toshiro instructed, wrapping his left arm behind himself to rest his hand on the small of her back. She was strong for a human girl, but he would be moving very fast.

Karin tightened her grasp, trying to prepare herself. She felt every muscle in his body tense, and tried to be ready, yet still couldn't stop the slight screech that escaped her mouth as the world suddenly became a blur.

A few shunpo later they were a good distance from the Kurosaki house. Toshiro moved easily, Karin a warm, comforting weight on his back. Deciding that he rather liked her there, and realizing that he was moving too fast for her to actually see anything, Toshiro slowed down about halfway to his destination and began running along the rooftops.

Suddenly Karin laughed. "I just realized what would happen if someone saw me right now."

Toshiro shuddered slightly as her warm breath blew against the side of his neck. "We're moving too fast for anyone to really see you. But if it would make you more comfortable…"

Karin let out a little squeak as he vaulted into the air, and before she could blink they were over a hundred meters off the ground and he was…running…on the air?!?!

"Okay, now this is cool." Karin said, and she heard him chuckle over the excitement she knew was in her voice. "I want Urahara-san to teach me this!"

"He can't." Toshiro replied absently. "It's not possible for humans to…wait, Urahara is…" Toshiro stuttered as he landed on the ground in front of the Urahara Shoten. He'd known it would be too cold outside for them to talk, well, too cold for her at least, so he'd asked Urahara as soon as he came through the Senkaimon if he could use the underground training area for the night. He hadn't mentioned bringing anyone else there, but he also hadn't known that Urahara was training Karin.

Although that did explain why Urahara had opened the Senkaimon for him without asking any questions. Knowing the tricky shopkeeper, he probably knew of his connection to Karin.

"Um…Toshiro?" Karin questioned after he had stood motionless for almost 20 seconds. She would have just hopped down, but his arm was still wrapped firmly around her, holding her to his back. She'd been insulted when he first did it, as if he thought she wasn't strong enough to hang on, but had understood as soon as he started moving at the insanely fast pace he had started out at.

"Ah, sorry." Toshiro said as he released her, allowing her to jump down and move away from him. "I figured it would be too cold outside for you, and was wondering how I was going to explain the huge area under the store. But I'm going to guess you've been there."

Karin nodded, and Toshiro adjusted his zanpakuto to rest on his back again even as he entered the store and headed downstairs, feeling her following him.

Karin was silent as she followed Toshiro down the long flight of stairs.

_Listen._

Karin almost embraced her power, then hesitated. Urahara-san had said that a zanpakuto's voice was supposed to be personal and private, and his tone of voice had basically said that he thought her power was somewhat rude. Using it on her friend for no reason other than to satisfy her curiosity seemed wrong.

Toshiro sat on a large rock and motioned for her to join him.

He'd gone over what he wanted to say over a dozen times, trying to find the best way to say it. He wasn't exactly good at expressing himself. But now that she sat beside him, everything he'd worked so hard on sounded stupid.

"So, Urahara-san is training you?" Toshiro asked finally, just to end the silence.

"Yes, but that's not why you dragged me out of my nice warm bed at 3 a.m." Karin replied. "You sounded surprised when I told you."

Toshiro nodded. "I am surprised, both that you would ask him and that he would agree. But, Karin, I really wish you wouldn't try to fight."

"Why? Just because I'm not as strong as you are doesn't mean I'm not strong!" Karin turned to face him fully, anger showing on her face.

"It doesn't matter how strong you are. Dealing with Hollows is the job of the Shinigami, and…" Toshiro's voice was still flat, although the twitching around the corners of his eyes showed his anger.

"You just don't want me to fight cause I'm a girl!" Karin said heatedly.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Toshiro replied, anger and frustration beginning to show in his voice.

"It's why Ichi-nii doesn't want me to fight. That's what he told me!" Karin stood up and began to pace.

Toshiro stood as well. "He was probably referring more to your age than your gender."

She spun to square off with him. "He's only 4 years older than I am!"

"And those are a very important 4 years!" Toshiro was responding to her anger by yelling at her in return.

"Well we humans can't be all mature and older than we look like you are." Karin retorted.

"It wouldn't matter if you were 50. I still wouldn't want you to fight!" Toshiro said, frustrated with the way the conversation was going. He hadn't come here to argue with her.

"I've been taking care of myself since my mother died!" Karin yelled. "Why does everyone suddenly think I can't do so? Are you checking up on me? What are you even doing here?"

"I just don't want to see another person I care about get hurt!" Toshiro yelled.

For a second, they both froze, and you could have heard a pin drop on the other end of the cavernous room.

Then Karin turned red and started sputtering, and Toshiro took a step away, snapping his head quickly to the side. His face went through several transitions before becoming expressionless.

"You came here just because you wanted to see me, didn't you?" Karin asked, all the anger gone from her voice.

Toshiro gave a single nod, still not looking at her. "When I left last week, I planned to never return to the human world. I thought it would be easier on both of us if we just never saw each other again. But I missed you. I barely know you, but I missed you."

"I missed you, too." Karin replied automatically. "But we're not really supposed to be friends, are we? Isn't that why you had to sneak down here?"

"It's just that it's hard for a Taicho to get to the real world." Toshiro replied as moved back over to the rock and sat back down. "There's no law against us being friends."

_Although there is a law forbidding you from being more than friends._

"More than friends?" Karin asked as she spun around to face him.

"What?" Toshiro's head snapped up. Where had that come from? Hyorinmaru had just made a sarcastic comment about it, but Toshiro was certain he hadn't repeated it out loud.

Karin turned bright red. "Kyokon," She mumbled before speaking in her head.

'_Please stop doing that. It's rude, and confusing.'_

_I told you to listen and you would not._

'_I was listening,' Karin told the voice. 'I listened to what he was saying out loud to me.'_

_That boy is too stoic and repressed to…_

"Urahara-san is apparently a very good teacher."

Karin blinked as the words pulled her out of her mental conversation. "What?"

"I've seen the look that was just in your eyes on the face of many a Shinigami," Toshiro replied, his mind having replayed the past minute. "You were speaking with your zan…with your soul. With your power."

Karin nodded. "I'm sorry, but I can't control it yet. It's…confusing sometimes."

His skilled mind had already come to the obvious conclusion.

"You heard what Hyorinmaru said to me, didn't you?" Toshiro questioned, trying to lead her away from thinking about what she'd actually heard. He planned on telling her at some point, but the way it had been revealed just felt so wrong to him.

"Hyorinmaru?"

"My zanpakuto," Toshiro clarified.

"Ah, yeah. I did," Karin blushed. "I wasn't trying to, from Urahara-san's reaction when he figured out what I can do I got the impression that it's kinda, well, rude, like eavesdropping on a private conversation or something, but…he's spoken me to once before, and…"

"He spoke _to_ you?" Toshiro asked in shock.

"I…I think so." Karin said, finally sitting back down beside him. "I wasn't sure what was going on at the time, but he spoke of you in the third person, as if he was speaking to me."

"But you weren't trying to hear him?" Toshiro asked. He _was_ curious, as he'd never heard of anything like this, but mostly he was just glad she was ignoring the comment she'd overheard about the whole 'more than friends' thing.

"No, I didn't even know that I could yet." Karin admitted. "Urahara-san just figured that out this morning. I can do it when I want to now, but I can't always stop it from happening when I don't want it to."

"What did he say when he spoke to you?" Toshiro questioned.

Karin blushed at the memory.

_He thinks he will lose me if he is not completely like me, but I will always be at the core of his being. His ice may melt to water, but that is simply another face of ice, and can always change back when it needs to._

She hadn't understood it at all at the time. Having had a week to think about it, and having done some checking on the Internet, she had an idea of what it meant. She also had lots of cheesy quotes about love melting the heart that she couldn't get out of her head.

"Wouldn't he have told you himself if he wanted you to hear?" Karin asked, grabbing onto any delay, any excuse she could to stop herself from thinking of what his Hyorinmaru had told her.

Toshiro glared at her. "Ask him yourself. He rarely speaks to me, except to make cynical comments."

"I can only listen, I can't talk to him." Karin replied, although she did wonder if it would be possible to talk to other souls the way she talked to her own. If she could hear them, why couldn't she make them hear her?

"Kyokon." Karin proudly invoked her power by name for the first time, picturing the cute white-haired boy that sat beside her in her head. "Kiku, Tamashii no Mado."

_I talk to him as often as he talks to others._

Karin giggled at the first comment, and tried to ask Hyorinmaru why he hadn't told Toshiro the same thing he'd told her.

_He cannot hear you._ Kyokon's voice echoed through her head instead. _You are not yet ready to speak to others._

_I feel him thawing, but that does not trouble me. Ice and cold were what he needed, what he knew, but he was once so much more. There must be more to life than duties and memories. He does not need to live in the icy cold logic of battle to have it when he needs it._

"What's he saying to you?" Toshiro asked quietly. Unlike when she'd been speaking to her own power, her eyes had not glazed over, and he had the feeling she'd be able to both listen and answer him.

"Umm…" Karin hesitated. "Maybe he doesn't want you to hear…"

_No, child. I just think it will be better coming from you._

"Ah, he says your thawing doesn't bother him. That duty and memories aren't all there is to life. He says you were once so much more than cold and ice, and that you don't need to…" Karin paused as she tried to remember the exact phrase.

_You do not need to live in the icy cold logic of battle to have it when you need it._

"You do not need to live in the icy cold logic of battle to have it when you need it." Karin repeated, her cheeks turning bright pink yet again as she looked over at him from less than a foot away. She'd probably blushed more tonight than she had in her entire life, she thought with irritation.

Toshiro gaped. "I spend a week worrying that I will lose my power if I…he could have just told me…"

_You are forbidden from being more than friends. But he has lived by the rules for far too long._

"He wanted me to tell you." Karin whispered. "And about the more than friends thing…"

Toshiro reached over to take her hand, and she stopped speaking as soon as he touched her, although she did return his grasp.

"I have no right to think of you that way, or to expect that's how you think of me. It would be impossible to…not to mention forbidden….and…"

"But it is how I think of you." Karin cut him off.

Toshiro couldn't think of how to reply. His heart soared, but at the same time his mind cut in with the fact that it would have been easier if she hadn't liked him back. Then he could have just left her alone, telling himself he was being a martyr by letting her live her life and not trying to win her hand. But knowing she liked him as well…

Toshiro looked up from where his gaze had been focused on their joined hands, meeting her eyes with the full force of his. "This is impossible."

Karin could only stare at him, mesmerized by the power in his teal eyes. She didn't know what had given her the courage to interrupt him, but was glad she had. Her eyes widened as one of his hands came up to ghost over her cheek.

Toshiro leaned in towards her slowly, making sure that this was okay with her. Although her eyes widened further and her breath hitched, she made no move to stop him.

Toshiro kissed her gently, his hand sliding around from her cheek to the back of her neck. He'd never kissed anyone on the lips before, and was amazed by the sensations caused by nothing but her soft lips on his.

Karin stopped thinking, stopped breathing, as he kissed her. She'd never wanted to kiss a guy before, had never found one she liked enough to even imagine it. But being kissed by him was like being given a little piece of heaven. Even as the thought popped into her head she almost cringed at the corniness of it. Yet her normally smart-ass brain could find no retort for the feelings flowing through her.

After what could have been an instant or an eternity, Toshiro slowly pulled back just enough to rest his forehead on hers. He kept his eyes closed as he repeated softly, "This is impossible."

"I love a challenge." Karin replied when she'd gotten back enough breath to talk.

TBC…

* * *

AN2: So now I come to the challenge every HitsuKarin writer faces. 1) Keep her human, and tell about how they can only see each other on occasion, bleh, bleh, bleh. 2) Fast-forward in time about 5-10 years, and have her reminisce about how they've been carrying on a forbidden relationship. 3) Kill her and have her enter Soul Society.

Any opinions? Or any other options?

* * *

Omake: Friday Night Drinking Group

"So you finally told her, huh?" Rangiku saluted Izuru with her cup before knocking it back.

Izuru blushed, yet acknowledged her toast by drinking himself. "Well, that puts me one up on you at this point."

"Yeah, these's this rumor going around that you're going after Kuchiki-taicho." Renji added with a chuckle. "How's that going for you?"

Rangiku smirked. "Not half as bad as I'd thought it would. Once you get to know him, he's actually less annoying than you are."

Renji choked on his sake as all the others around the table laughed.

"Why are we talking about this anyway?" Shunsui wanted to know.

Rangiku smirked again. "Well, it seems Byakuya and I have won the poll. The next story in this series is going to be all about us! I just love being the center of attention!"

"What about me?" Shunsui questioned. "I want to be the center of attention!"

"Well, apparently there is one person who's very insistent on you getting your own story, so just be patient." Izuru commented, pride on his face. "I already got mine though, so someone must like me more than you."

"Yeah, but that same someone likes Shiro-chan more than you, so don't get too cocky." Rangiku quipped back.

"Yeah, what do all the ladies see in that child?" Renji wanted to know.

"It's gotta be the hair." Ikkaku grimaced as he refilled everyone's cups.

"Nah, it's his zanpakuto." Shunsui replied. "It is the most popular in all of Seireitei after all."

Rangiku locked eyes with Yoruichi across the table and decided not to comment.

* * *

Glossary:

Hyorinmaru: Written with the kanji for ice, ring, and circle, this is Toshiro's ice-type zanpakuto. Interestingly enough, the kanji used for ring is also used as a counter for flowers, possibly a reference to the flower petals that form behind Toshiro's bankai.

Kyokon: Written using the kanji for mirror (kagami / 鏡 ) and soul (tamashii / 魂 ). This is the name of Karin's power, and was created by me for this story.

Kiku: literally "Listen." The release command for Karin's Tamashii no Mado.

Tamashii no Mado: Literally "Soul's Window" or "Window of the Soul," Karin's ability that allows her to hear the souls of others.


	8. While the Cats are Away

Disclaimer: Kubo is god. Kubo is king. Tite Kubo owns everything. Except the quotes used at the start of each chapter. They were all found on the internet, and if they have an author I say who it is.

AN: See all author's notes in part one. So after reading and considering all the ideas for how the story should progress from this point on, I finally figured out, mostly, how I want to do this. And the one thing I haven't figured out yet you get to vote on at the end of the chapter! It does mean I'll be jumping forward in time several years, but that really can't be helped, mostly because I just can't write romance with a 12 year old. It feels too wrong. Also, another fairly long part (for me at least). I just couldn't find a good stopping point any sooner.

* * *

No Warm Memories

By Lady Callista

Chapter 8: While the Cats are Away

_OoOoOoOoOoO_

_Some have a lifetime, some just a day._

_Love isn't something you measure that way._

_Nothing's ever forever. Forever is a lie._

_All we have is between hello and goodbye._

_OoOoOoOoOoO_

_**OoOo Two-years Later oOoO**_

"Please let me come with you this year, Ichigo." Karin begged as she walked into her brother's room.

Ichigo barely looked up from his homework. "I told you last year at this time, and every other time you've asked, you're not a Shinigami, and you can't go to Seireitei."

"I know I can't go normally, but for this…" Karin persisted as she plopped down on his bed. "I know Orihime-chan and the others went last year."

"But they know people. They fought in the War." Ichigo replied. "Why do you want to go anyway? It's just a remembrance ceremony for those who died - it's not like you knew any of them."

Karin blushed bright pink and looked down at her feet.

"That's what I thought." Ichigo sighed as he shook his head. "You haven't seen him in almost a year; can you even still consider yourselves friends?"

Actually, Karin thought as she carefully didn't meet his gaze, she'd seen him almost a dozen times in the past year. She'd just hidden if from Ichigo.

In theory only Urahara-san, who opened the Senkaimon for Toshiro, knew that they'd been seeing each other. Although Karin was fairly certain that Orihime knew as well, as she always had some plans for her and Ichigo on the first of the month, which was the day Toshiro came if he could manage to get away. In the past 24 months, he'd only missed twice.

"If you hadn't seen Tatsuki in a year, would she still be your friend?" Karin sidestepped his question with one of her own.

"That's different." Ichigo replied. "I've been friends with her for most of my life. Plus, don't you have a soccer tournament tomorrow?"

"Yeah, but I can miss it." Karin replied. "Please, just let me come with you."

"Even if I wanted to let you come, I couldn't." Ichigo sighed. "It's a private event, and you were not invited."

"You just don't want me to see Toshiro." Karin snapped, standing up abruptly and crossing to his door. "I'll just find another way."

Ichigo sighed again as she stomped out. She was fourteen, half-way to fifteen, and the signs of her childhood crush on Hitsugaya Toshiro showed no signs of fading away. He'd hoped that as she grew older, and as more and more months passed without her getting to see the young taicho, she would simply forget him. Why couldn't she just like a normal human boy?

Not that he'd be much happier about that, Ichigo thought with a moan as he turned his attention back to his homework, but at least a human would be easier to kill than a taicho. Because make no mistake, anybody who hurt his little sister would die a very painful death.

_OoOo The next night oOoO_

Karin was in a rotten mood despite the fact that her team had won the soccer tournament. Even her dad taking her and Yuzu out for dinner and ice-cream afterwards hadn't helped.

She'd planned to ignore Ichigo by waiting till he and his friends went through the gate, and then just asking Urahara-san to leave it open for her. After all the help he'd been the past two years, she was pretty sure he'd agree.

Unfortunately, Urahara and Yoruichi had gone through the gate with Ichigo and his friends, and it had closed behind them.

Leaving a very annoyed Karin stuck in the human world.

As it happened to be the first day of the month, and she knew Toshiro wouldn't be able to get away because of the memorial and all, she resigned herself to another month without seeing her boyfriend.

She'd gone up to her room soon after they got home, saying she was tired from the long day. And that wasn't a lie, her body was exhausted, but her mind just wouldn't turn off.

When her last soccer game had ended, she'd seen one of the boys on her team go straight to the bleachers and give his girlfriend a kiss.

What would it be like to have a relationship with a normal boy? To be able to walk home from school with him every day? To not have to meet in secret for fear someone would find out you were dating?

_To have to explain to him why you sometimes have to run off in the middle of dates because you sense a Hollow?_

'_Oh, be quiet.'_ Karin said sharply to Kyokon. _'I'm not saying I think it's possible, or even that I want it, but I wonder.'_

_You could just become a deputy Shinigami like your brother. Then the relationship would be…well, allowed, at least._

Karin sighed. _'You've been pushing me towards that even since Urahara-san said my power had grown enough he thought it was possible. But I'm not sure that's what I want. To always be at the beck and call of Seireitei like Ichigo is. To have to go patrolling every night. I don't feel the need to protect everyone like he does. I mean, I do, but not the same way. I just want to protect my family and friends so that he can worry about the important things.'_

_But you are destined to do so much more. Your power…_

'_I know how strong I've become.' _Karin said without pride. _'But I'm nowhere near as strong as Ichigo. Or Toshiro.'_

_That is only because they are Shinigami and you are not. As a human, there is only so much power your body can handle. There is only so much I can do. But you have more untapped power within you…_

'_Let's just leave it untapped for now.' _Karin replied as she snuggled down under her covers. '_I don't want to be a hero. I just want to live my life. Although I wish there was a way for Toshiro to be a bigger part of it.'_

_Soon you will have to choose._

Karin thought she heard Kyokon get in the final word as she finally drifted off to sleep.

_OoOo Meanwhile, in Seireitei oOoO_

"You should at least consider our offer, Urahara-san."

"No offense, Yamamoto-soutaicho, but I've been considering it for two years now, and my answer will not change. I do not want to be a taicho again." Urahara replied as he and the old man stood in a corner conversing.

"But now that Shihoin-san has agreed…"

"Yoruichi is free to do as she wishes, not that I could stop her if I tried." Urahara mused. "She will be a good taicho for the Kyubantai, as well as an excellent leader of investigations. Although do not be surprised if she tries to regain control of the Onmitsukido."

"Her and Soifon-taicho have already had words about that, I believe." Yamamoto said in a thoughtful voice. "It _is_ hers by right of birth."

"That would be an interesting fight to watch…" Urahara mused as he finished off his sake.

"But with her agreeing, the only taicho position we have unfilled is that of the Gobantai." Yamamoto argued. "If you would only agree…"

"I've told you no every time you've asked." Urahara said with a sigh. "My answer isn't going to change. Now, if you would excuse me please."

In another corner of the room, Orihime leaned against the wall, sipping the punch that Ichigo had brought her before Kenpachi had chased him out of the room and onto one of the practice fields to fight. She listened absently to Yachiru, who had dropped off of Kenpachi's back as he'd run by.

"But we're not sure if we like that idea either, so now the me and the other ladies are talking about…"

"Inoue-san, Yachiru-fukutaicho, good evening." Toshiro said as he stepped over to them.

"Hitsugaya-taicho." Orihime nodded her head, remembering to be formal.

"Shiro-chan!" Yachiru squealed, "You're talking to someone at a party!"

Toshiro glared at her, but only slightly. It was hard to get too annoyed with the pink-haired hyper girl. "I was just surprised that you weren't watching Kenpachi-taicho fight. Don't you like seeing him have fun?"

"Ken-chan is fighting?" Yachiru asked guilelessly, apparently the only one in the room who hadn't sensed the huge rise in reiatsu a few moments ago.

Not that anyone was concerned about it. Not once had Ichigo managed to enter Seireitei without being challenged to spar by Kenpachi. And he'd been there at least a dozen times in the past few years on one kind of business or another. It was assumed that if neither had died yet they weren't going to.

Toshiro nodded, and Yachiru said goodbye to Orihime and skipped off to find her taicho.

"She wanted to come, Toshiro-kun, but she couldn't." Orihime said quietly when she was alone with Toshiro.

"She would be out of place, anyway." Toshiro replied as he looked around. With the exception of Ichigo and his friends, the room was filled with Shinigami; with the taicho, fukutaicho, and other seated officers who had taken an active part in the Winter War. Even after two years, it still saddened him to note the absence of certain faces. "She wouldn't be able to talk to me much, and she doesn't know many others. Plus if someone was watching too hard… she and I can't afford any mistakes."

"I know." Orihime said quietly. "It's why I've never told Ichigo."

"Did I ever thank you for that?" Toshiro asked, his cheeks turning slightly pink as he remembered an event in the real world just a few months shy of two years ago. Ichigo would have caught him and Karin kissing if not for Orihime's intervention.

"You didn't, but Karin-chan did." Orihime smiled at him. "It's not that hard really; Ichigo doesn't really _want _to know about his sister's love life. He knows I'm there to talk to her if she needs it, so that allows him to ignore it the way he wants to."

Toshiro gave her one of his almost-smiles, then said in a voice so low she barely heard him, "Could you tell her that I miss her?"

"Of course." Orihime smiled gently at him. "I know she misses you, too."

Toshiro was about to reply when a Jigokucho flew into the room and hovered in the center of it. The voice of Kotetsu Kiyone filled the air, stopping every conversation that was going on in less than a second.

"Urgent notice to all members of the Gotei Juusantai, multiple Gillain and at least two Adjuchas have been reported in Karakura Town, Japan. Divisions Four, Eleven, and Thirteen are ordered to report to their barracks and await their assignments. As all taicho and fukutaicho are currently together, expect these assignments to come very quickly. Again, multiple Gillian and at least two Adjuchas have been reported in Karakura Town…"

"Urahara!" Ichigo's shout drowned out the repeating message as he charged into the room. "Open the Reishihenkanki now!"

Orihime, Ishida, and Chad practically flew to his side, and without a word to any of the Shinigami the four of them vanished through Urahara's gate, the former-taicho right behind them.

"Order, order!" Yamamoto called out, as chaos had descended upon the room with the rapid leaving of the four humans and one ex-taicho. "Now, as there are Adjuchas, I will need at least one taicho and fukutaicho…"

"I'm going." Toshiro spoke up, to the surprise of most of the room.

"We're going." Rangiku and Rukia spoke as one.

"You are no longer Juusanbantai." Kuchiki Byakuya spoke to his sister. "The human world is no longer your concern."

Rukia glared at him. "Well then, Kuchiki-taicho…demote me."

Rangiku was already heading towards the Senkaimon that had opened in the corner of the room, it obviously having been anticipated that at least a few of the people in the room would be going. She spun around to face Byakuya as Rukia and Toshiro joined her in front of the gate. "I'll bring her home."

"Bring yourself home as well." He mouthed, and only the fact that she'd gotten used to reading his lips allowed her to understand his unspoken statement.

The gate had just begun to open when Renji stepped up to join them. "Can't let Ichigo take all the glory."

Rukia gave him a grim smile. "At least you can't get in trouble for going."

Renji smirked. "If he kicks you out he can take Izuru and I'll take you. At least then the office might get more interesting."

Rukia could only shake her head at him as the four friends stepped though the gate.

_OoOo A few minutes previously, in the real world oOoO_

Karin awoke with a start, the screams of dozens of suffering souls lancing through her mind. Well used to waking up like this, and knowing that this time Ichigo wasn't there to help, Karin grabbed her soccer ball from the side of her bed and vaulted out the window, the jump down to the ground nothing to her conditioned body. Especially as she knew how to use her reiatsu to cushion the fall.

She sent her mind out to locate the Hollow, worried at the number of souls she heard screaming. Her worry abruptly turned to panic when she realized the Hollow was almost on top of her, and that it was larger than anything she'd ever seen.

It was taller than her two-story house, an oddly narrow shape, covered completely by a black cloak and a narrow white mask. She could sense that it was much stronger than a normal Hollow, but had no idea what it was.

With a shout, Karin channeled her reiatsu into her soccer ball and kicked it hard, her aim true as always. Yet her shout of jubilation as the Hollow vanished cut off abruptly as others floated in to take its place.

Luckily her ball had fallen back to the ground close to her, having rebounded off of a neighbor's house. Her mind furiously focused on everything Urahara, Ichigo, and Toshiro had taught her, Karin lined herself up for another kick.

"Kyokon." She called out. "Tamashii no Mado."

Abruptly her mind was filled with screaming voices, but she organized and filtered them as she had been trained to do. She'd almost lost consciousness from the pain the first time Urahara had exposed her to multiple Hollows, but was well used to it by now.

Off to her left she sensed the weakest one of the group, the one which had the least number of souls in it. She quickly kicked her ball in that direction after filling it with her reiatsu, making sure her kick was angled so that a building behind the Hollow would bounce the ball back to her.

"Karin - what's going on?" Yuzu's screech filled her ears, and she spared a second as her ball rebounded to see her twin at their bedroom window, her hands clutching her head as if she was in pain.

"Stay inside!" Karin screamed. "Wake dad up, but stay inside!"

"Bakudo Number 26 - Kyakko."

Karin screamed as Yuzu suddenly vanished from sight.

TBC…

* * *

**AN2: There is a poll up on my profile that will determine how the next chapter goes. As you can tell, we're having a climax one way or another. Should Karin live and become a Deputy Shinigami, or die and become a real Shinigami? Vote now. Or if you can't be bothered to go vote, at least tell me your opinion when you review. I'm leaning a certain way right now, but will totally abide by what the readers pick.**

**

* * *

**

Omake: Radio Kon

Kon: So, tonight we have one of our most anticipated guests so far. Kurosaki Karin joins us tonight.

Karin: I think I like you better with the pink flower glued to your ear.

Kon: I wish that between you and your brother one of you would save me from being subjected to things like that.

Karin: You tell me how it works that sometimes you're in that lion and sometimes you're in Ichi-nii's body and maybe I will.

Kon: …

Karin: That's what I thought. So what did you want me here for?

Kon: Well, some of our readers have questions for you…the first is, "Karin-chan, why did you deny what you saw for so long?"

Karin: If you could see ghosts, and none of your friends could, would you really want to advertise it?

Kon: But your brother still helped them, just not when anyone could see…

Karin: And I'm not him! I know everyone in Soul Society thinks he's so great, but if they had to live with him…with his constant over protectiveness…and never wanting to show his feelings…and just randomly vanishing for weeks at a time…

Kon: Well, anyways, the next question for you is…

Karin: Well, anyways, this has been fun, but I think I sense a Hollow….

Kon: No, don't leave…Well, that's all the time we have tonight folks, stay tuned for another broadcast of Radio Kon. With a Mystery Guest. Who do you think it should be?

* * *

Glossary:

Soutaicho: Commander General; the rank held by Yamamoto.

Kyubantai: 9th Division, formerly Tosen's.

Onmitsukido: Secret Mobile Corps. Originally led by a member of the Shihoin family, it became attached to whatever division they were a part of. When Yoruichi fled Soul Society, they remained tied to the 2nd Division, which she had been taicho of. Currently commanded by Soifon.

Jigokucho: Hell Butterfly, one of their main purposes is as messengers between Shinigami.

Reishihenkanki: Spirit Exchanger, the only way for humans to pass into Soul Society.

Juusanbantai: 13th Division

Bakudo: "Way of Binding," one of the two main types of spells that Shinigami cast. The other is Hado, or "Way of Destruction." Almost all spells we see cast by Shinigami fall into one of these two categories.

Kyakko: "Curving Light," a spell to bend light and hide both the physical appearance and reiatsu of whatever it is cast around. Cannon.


	9. Song of Siren and Swan

Disclaimer: Kubo is god. Kubo is king. Tite Kubo owns everything. Except the quotes used at the start of each chapter. They were all found on the internet, and if they have an author I say who it is.

AN: See all author's notes in part one. Thanks to all who voted on what should happen to Karin, either by going to my poll or by putting it in your review. Although I do wish people had reviewed the chapter instead of just saying what their vote was. I've never really written a fight like this and was curious what people would think. Oh, and someone PM'd me pointing out that I'd made a mistake in the last chapter by having Orihime call Ichigo by his given name. It wasn't a mistake; remember that this is two years in the future and you don't know all of what's happened to the other characters. You'll have to wait for my other stories to know that.

* * *

No Warm Memories

By Lady Callista

Chapter 9: Song of Siren and Swan

_OoOoOoOoOoO_

_It is a fearful thing to love what death can touch._

_OoOoOoOoOoO_

"Karin - what's going on?" Yuzu's screech filled her ears even over the screaming of the souls of the Hollows, and she spared a second as her ball rebounded to see her twin at their bedroom window, her hands clutching her head as if she was in pain.

"Stay inside!" Karin screamed. "Wake dad up, but stay inside!"

"Bakudo Number 26 - Kyakko."

Karin screamed as Yuzu suddenly vanished from sight.

"Yuzu!" The same voice that had cast the kido called out. "Don't move!"

Ignoring the other enemies for the moment, she spun towards the source of the voice, and her jaw dropped as she saw her father in shihakusho, with what could only be a zanpakuto naked in his hand.

"She's safe, I hid her from sight." Isshin said rapidly as he moved forward to stand beside his daughter. "You should go hide with her."

"You can handle them all on your own?" Karin asked sarcastically as she reclaimed her ball and launched it into what Kyokon told her was the second weakest Hollow. The fact that her father was a Shinigami only half-surprised her, and she quickly tucked away all other emotions for another time.

"Soul Society will sense this." Isshin replied as he mumbled something under his breath and a bolt of red light shot from his hand, destroying one of the strange, narrow Hollows. "They'll send help soon."

"Well, until then, we work together." Karin replied as her ball bounced back to her yet again. She'd had to learn way more about geometry and angles than she'd wanted to when training with Urahara, and now she could only appreciate it.

"They're not normal Hollows." Isshin shouted at her even as he shot another blast of light from his hand. "They're too strong for you."

"I've taken out three so far, old man." Karin shot back as she spoke to Kyokon again and found the next weakest. Although it was still fairly strong. She called up her newest power, one she'd only learned of a few months ago. She could finally talk to other souls! "Sasayaku, Kaze no Koe."

Whisper, Voice of the Wind.

_I offer you release from your suffering…cause conflict within that which devoured you…_

The Gillian that had been moving towards Karin froze, it's internal voices suddenly becoming conflicted, and Karin kicked her ball with a yell, destroying both the mask and the Gillian.

"Kurosaki Ichigo is gone. His friends are gone. All the Shinigami are gone." A voice suddenly spoke from behind Karin and her father, and she spun to face it, putting her back to her father's instinctively. Unlike the dozens of other opponents, this one looked more like a normal Hollow, although she could tell it was more than that. "This town should have no resistance."

"I'm Kurosaki Karin." Karin shouted at the creature, not knowing what she faced. "And I guard this town in my brother's stead."

"Then die in his stead!" The Adjuchas replied as it charged towards her.

"Karin, no!" Isshin realized what his daughter faced, and grabbed her and reversed their positions so that he faced the Adjuchas and she again faced the Gillians. "Take out the Gillians. The long white masks. One after another. If I fall, go into the house with Yuzu and hide in the barrier I set up. The one I face is beyond you."

"Dad…"

"Karin…do what I say. If the barrier falls, only you can protect your sister. If anything goes wrong, go to your sister! That's an order. " He yelled at her, his zanpakuto beginning to glow in her peripheral vision.

'If you insist on fighting, you will one day face an opponent you cannot defeat. If others with you are capable of defeating it, there is no shame in letting them do so. It is better to stay alive, and do what you can to help, than overreach your ability. Because through your death you will be no help at all.'

Urahara's words echoing in her head, Karin felt her resolve firm. "Yes, sir." Yet as she prepared to kick her ball again, she couldn't help but add, "I love you, dad."

"I love you too, Karin." Isshin replied. "Now make me proud."

Karin heard her father shunpo away from her, but trusted him to still be guarding her back. Even as she heard the first clash of steel on steel ring through the quiet night she sent Kaze no Koe into the nearest creature to her, confusing it long enough for her powerful kick to destroy it.

'_Kyokon, there're too many of them. There must be 30, 35 of them. I can only destroy one at a time…'_

_You have all the power I can give you. Anything else could destroy your body. _

Karin narrowly avoided the sweep of a huge cloaked arm, jumping out of the way an instant before she would have been sent smashing into a wall.

'Could_ destroy my body? Kyokon, this fight _could_ destroy my body! Is it certain?'_

_Nothing is certain._

Karin could swear she felt Kyokon sigh, as if deciding what to do. She shoved more of her reiatsu into her ball, destroying yet another Gillian. As she waited for the ball to rebound to her, one of the creatures managed to get a hold of her, and Karin felt herself lifted off the ground.

A bolt of purple light abruptly shot into it and destroyed it, and suddenly Karin was back on the ground. Sparing a glance towards her father, she nodded once in thanks and spun to retrieve her ball.

_There is a way. The greatest power I possess. You can turn the attention of every Gillian to you, and you can make them stop attacking. But not for long. And it will exhaust you. If the others do not arrive before you tire…_

'_I don't think I have a choice.' _Karin screamed in her head as she narrowly dodged another attack. The corner of her vision caught her father getting slammed back into a wall, although he was back on his feet instantaneously. Two of the Gillian were moving towards her house, the house where her sister was hidden, and she knew she could never kill them both in time.

This time Karin was certain she felt Kyokon sigh, and words she had never known suddenly erupted from her lips. She focused her mind on each of the Gillian.

"Kyokon - Uta no On'na-yuwakusha."

Mirror Soul. Siren's Song.

Karin heard a note of music welling up in her soul, and as one all of the Gillian turned to stare at her, seemingly mesmerized. She kicked her soccer ball into one of the two that had been moving towards the house, and ran closer so that she could catch the rebound faster. None of them moved as she destroyed the second one by her house, yet Karin could feel what Kyokon had meant about this draining her. She wouldn't be able to hold them for much longer, because they were trying to break free. Keeping her mind focused on the Gillian, she didn't notice a sudden rush of air behind her.

"These creatures answer only to me, little girl."

Karin gasped in pain, looking down to discover what looked like a sword sticking out of her stomach. But there couldn't be a sword sticking out of her stomach, because…

"Karin!!!"

It was her father's voice, but it seemed so very far away. She fell to the ground, grasping her stomach as blood began to pour out of her.

Then new voices. Three that she hadn't heard in a while, and one achingly familiar.

"Ban-Kai. Hihio, Zabimaru."

"Mae, Sode no Shirayuki - Some no mai, Tsukishiro."

"Unare, Haineko."

"Ban-Kai. Daiguren Hyorinmaru."

Eyes beginning to close, Karin watched as a disjointed snake made of bone segments and a tornado of grey ash cut into the Gillians, destroying half a dozen of them in mere seconds. A circle of light flashed into existence on the ground below some of them, and a second later became a column of ice, trapping several inside.

The last thing Karin saw as her eyes slid closed was Toshiro's face above her, giant wings made of ice surrounding his body. "Missed you…" She whispered as she fell into darkness.

"KARIN!" Toshiro screamed as her eyes slid closed. He bent closer to her, his hands already beginning to glow with a healing kido, when he abruptly sensed a presence behind him.

"Ryusenka!" Spinning around, he shot ice at his attacker, freezing it into a pillar of ice. It was the second Adjuchas, the one neither Karin or her father had known was there. Her blood was still on it's blade.

"El Directo." A huge blast of energy cut through three of the Gillians.

A second later, with no word of warning, dozens of blue arrows made of light shot into the Gillians.

"Ban-Kai. Tensa Zangetsu. Getsuga Tensho. " A huge crescent of red and black light shot towards the Gillians, cutting through the Adjuchas and it's icy prison on the way.

"Inoue!" Toshiro shouted even as he bent back down over Karin, trying to start a healing kido. He folding his wings in around the two of them to protect them from the insanity going on around them.

Although less than a minute had passed since she'd been stabbed, she was no longer breathing.

Toshiro felt why the instant he began trying to heal her. Although the sword had exited through her stomach, her opponent being so much taller than her meant that he had attacked at a downward angle. From the back, his sword had entered below her shoulder blade, going directly through her heart and many of her internal organs before exiting.

He cracked his wings open as he felt Inoue approaching, and the girl slid into the ice cave he'd created without hesitation, although she began shivering almost immediately.

"Soten Kisshun."

The familiar oval of golden light covered Karin at once, but Orihime frowned after only an instant.

"I…I don't understand." A few tears streamed down her cheeks.

Toshiro looked at her in horror. Although he could see Karin's wounds beginning to heal, her reiatsu was completely gone. Her soul…

"TOSHIRO!"

Toshiro let his bankai evaporate without thought at Ichigo's shout, knowing the battle was over. Everyone gathered around them in a matter of seconds.

"Karin." Isshin whispered, his hand reaching out towards his daughter, although he knew better than to try and reach through the shield around her. "I didn't know there was a second one…"

Tears streamed down Orihime's face as she tried to bring Karin back. She'd healed the dead before! Although not a human…

It was Rukia who knelt beside Orihime after a moment, gently putting her hands on the girl's shoulders. "There's nothing you can do. Without the soul, you can't bring the body back."

"Once the chain of fate isn't attached to the body…" Rangiku whispered, kneeling between Orihime and Toshiro.

Orihime's shield finally vanished, and the girl collapsed into Rukia's arms, sobbing her heart out. Ichigo and the others could only stare, too stunned to move. To stunned to accept it. Karin couldn't be dead.

Toshiro let out a scream of pain and collapsed over her body, hugging her to him. Rangiku wrapped herself around her taicho's back, holding him as he cried.

No one asked why he was so broken up about it. It didn't matter at the moment.

It was Ishida who finally said it. "So where is her soul?"

As the others looked at him in confusion, realizing that was a very good question, Isshin alone turned the opposite direction.

He turned to face his house, where Yuzu was still hidden. If anything went wrong, he'd told Karin, she was to protect her sister. Maybe… He dropped the kido he'd woven around Yuzu.

OoOoOoOoO

Karin's eyes opened slowly, her body feeling strange. The pain was gone now, and instead of staring up into Toshiro's concerned face she was staring into Yuzu's even more concerned one.

"Karin?" Yuzu asked in a whisper. "What's going on?"

Karin realized quickly that in addition to concern there was also fear on her sister's face. She looked down at herself quickly, expecting to find a bloody hole where her stomach had once been. That would explain her sister's fear. Instead, she found a chain anchored into her chest, it's end locked firmly around her sister's wrist.

"Ichigo's gonna be so mad at me." She whispered to herself.

"What's going on?" Yuzu asked again. "Who are all those people outside?"

"It's a long story." Karin sighed and she stood up and pulled her sister up with her. She turned towards the stairs and made her way towards the others. "I'm sure you'll get to hear everything now."

Karin locked eyes with her father as she and Yuzu stepped out of the house. He was the only one looking their way. Although at his gasp, the others who were still standing turned quickly, their faces unable to decide on what expression they should show.

Ichigo was beside her in an instant, wrapping both his sisters in his strong arms. "I told you that you shouldn't be fighting." He whispered in Karin's ear, and she could hear the tears in his voice.

"They were going after Yuzu." Karin whispered back, unsurprised when her father's arms suddenly joined her brother's around her. "I knew none of you were here… I had to…"

They held her a moment longer, then Karin caught sight of the four people who were still gathered around her body. Rukia had noticed what was going on, and was trying to get Orihime to stop sobbing long enough to tell her. Rangiku was wrapped around Toshiro, and neither of them had noticed anything yet. She could hear Toshiro sobbing her name from where she stood.

Breaking away from her family gently, Karin crossed the ground and put her hand on Rangiku's shoulder. The woman's head spun around and she let out a gasp as she moved quickly off of Toshiro.

Karin wrapped herself around her boyfriend's quivering back. "It's okay." She whispered. "Now we can be together."

Toshiro stopped embracing her dead body and turned to take her into his arms, clinging to her tightly. "No, we can't. Don't you understand?" His tears hadn't stopped. If anything, they had grown worse.

Karin clung to him even as confusion overcame her. What was she forgetting? It came to her an instant before he spoke.

"If you stay on Earth, you'll eventually either become a Hollow or be eaten by one. But if you pass on the Soul Society you'll forget everything. Karin, you won't even remember my name!"

Karin started crying with him as the horror of the situation settled in.

TBC…

* * *

AN2: (ducks objects thrown at her and runs for cover)

* * *

Omake: Radio Kon

Producer: Where the hell is he? He tells us he's going to have a special guest, then he doesn't even show up!

Cameraman: Um, sir?

Camera pans to Yuzu as she clutches Kon in her arms, his bright pink dress drenched from her tears. His eyes widen imploringly at the camera.

Producer: Right then. Let's wrap it up for the night, people. It looks like our star is otherwise occupied…

* * *

Glossary:

First off, I know some of you are confused about the title, because my beta was as well. Siren Song obviously refers to Karin's power. Swan Song is an idiom indicating a final performance or accomplishment, generally by someone who knows, or at least suspects, that they are going to die soon. It comes from the (untrue) ancient belief that a certain species of swan are mute their entire lives, finally singing one beautiful song right before they die.

Bakudo: "Way of Binding," one of the two main types of spells that Shinigami cast. The other is Hado, or "Way of Destruction." Almost all spells we see cast by Shinigami fall into one of these two categories.

Kyakko: "Curving Light," a spell to bend light and hide both the physical appearance and reiatsu of whatever it is cast around. Cannon.

Sasayaku: literally "Whisper."

Kaze no Koe: literally "Voice of the Wind" or "Wind's Voice," Karin's power that allows her to speak to the souls of others. Created by me.

Uta no On'na-yuwakusha: literally "Song of the Siren" or "Siren's Song." The word used for Siren translates, sort of, as seductress, and is a reference to the Sirens of Greek myth who could lure men to them with their beautiful voices. Instead of entrancing men's hearts, Karin's power entrances the souls of others, making them unable to do anything but stare at her in awe. It requires a tremendous amount of power however, as the souls she has entranced try to fight against her. Created by me.

Sorry, but I'm too lazy to translate all the zanpakuto names and powers. They should all be familiar anyways if you watch or read Bleach. Otherwise there's this wonderful thing called the Bleach Wiki…


	10. Hopes and Fears

Disclaimer: Kubo is god. Kubo is king. Tite Kubo owns everything. Except the quotes used at the start of each chapter. They were all found on the internet, and if they have an author I say who it is.

AN: See all author's notes in part one. Oh, and I didn't forget the omake, I'm just running out of ideas for them and wanted to get this part out. Plus it's not like every chapter of the manga has one anyway, most of them just have a cute little picture or two. I understand why now. It's hard to come up with this many of them.

* * *

No Warm Memories

By Lady Callista

Chapter 10: Hopes and Fears

_OoOoOoOoOoO_

_Hope is the thing with feathers_

_That perches in the soul_

_And sings the tune without the words_

_And never stops at all. _

_-Emily Dickenson_

_OoOoOoOoOoO_

"There has to be some way." Orihime said as the majority of the group gathered in the Kurosaki clinic a short time later.

Chad and Ishida had left to patrol the city, making sure no other Hollows were taking advantage of the fact that all of Karakura Town's defenders were supposed to be gone.

And Isshin was otherwise occupied with the authorities. A neighbor had let their dog out at just the wrong time, and Isshin was now back in his body and playing grieving father to the police and medical personal that the neighbor had called. Luckily almost everyone had already been inside when the neighbor came out, and the few that had been left outside were invisible to her.

What kind of story Isshin was making up was anyone's guess, but his wailing could be clearly heard by all.

"It's not possible." Urahara replied. "Konso is how a soul enters Soul Society, and once there it loses all memories of it's previous life."

"Why can't you just stay here?" Yuzu cried from her place on Ichigo's lap. At 14, she didn't fit quite as well as she used to, but she still took comfort in her big brother's arms around her. And Orihime sitting beside them and stroking her hair was nice too.

Karin lifted her head from where she was cuddled into Toshiro's chest enough to look at her sister. "I don't belong here anymore, sis." Karin said, briefly using one of her hands to lift the chain that connected the sisters. "Besides, do you really want me following you around forever?"

Yuzu cracked a smile as outside their father let out a particularly exaggerated wail. "You just don't wanna put up with dad anymore."

"There is that." Karin smiled back slightly, then turned to Urahara. "But there has to be some way for me to keep my memory."

"Well," Urahara glanced at her fate chain. "The way I first trained Ichigo to become a Shini…"

"Absolutely not!" Ichigo asserted.

"Ichi-nii, what…" Karin turned to face him.

"No, Urahara." Ichigo glared at the man. "It's too big a risk. Just let her go to Soul Society. And then we'll find her and find a way to restore her memories."

"But Rukongai is huge." Rangiku interjected, although she knew her taicho well enough to add, "Not that I have any doubt we'd look until we found her, but her memories…"

"No one has ever been able to restore a soul's memories." Rukia said quietly.

"What if I just take her through the Senkaimon with me?" Toshiro spoke for the first time since they'd entered the room, glancing at Urahara. He sat on the couch with Karin curled against his chest, his arms tightly around her. For once he didn't care what people thought. He just never wanted to let her go.

"I can't answer that." Urahara shrugged. "To my knowledge it's never been tried."

"What's the worst that could happen?" Rukia wanted to know.

"Well, that would depend." Urahara thought out loud. "If a Jigokucho comes for her, she'd be fine. But if not, you'd have to make sure she wasn't separated from you, or her soul could be lost forever."

"We won't get separated." Toshiro replied in a tone that broached no debate.

"In that case, she'll make it to the other side. But I have no idea what will happen once she's there. She may lose her memories, or not. There is no way to know."

The room fell silent for a moment, broken by Karin hesitantly asking, "What about Kyokon?"

Urahara shrugged again. "Another question I can't answer." He glanced over at Orihime. "We've been looking into it, but there's really no frame of reference. There are just no records of humans manifesting powers to the degree Sado-san and the two of you ladies have. We have no idea what will happen to any of you when you die and enter Soul Society."

"The best guess is that you'll keep your powers." Rangiku interjected. "But they may change somewhat, to become more like zanpakutos. All of you have strong enough reiatsu to become Shinigami, and we think that once you start training for that your powers will change to reflect what you are."

Everyone looked at her in amazement.

"What?" Rangiku blushed slightly. "I just figured we'd need to know someday, and Ukitake-taicho was very helpful."

"You've known all along, haven't you?" Toshiro questioned with a raise of his eyebrow.

Rangiku nodded. "Did you really think you were just that lucky that no one noticed all the times you left Seireitei?"

"All the times?" Ichigo glared at Toshiro and Karin. "But it's been almost a year since I saw you two together."

"And of course you're with me every minute of the day." Karin said drolly.

"But…but…" Ichigo gaped.

"Does it really matter anymore?" Orihime asked quietly, resting a hand on his knee.

"No, but it's kinda funny." Renji spoke for the first time since Karin had died. He'd been very confused seeing Toshiro crying over the dead girl, but he'd heard enough now to figure out what had been going on. "Hitsugaya-taicho. Mr. Follow-the Rules, Mr. Be Formal, Mr. Never Smile or Laugh. And he's been dating a human for the past year. Sneaking around behind the other Shinigami's backs…"

"Two years, actually." Rangiku added helpfully.

"Two?" Renji laughed.

"At least he told her he liked her right away." Rukia elbowed him in the side. "It took you how many years?"

"Well, you could have told me that you…"

Rukia and Renji continued to argue, with Orihime trying to break them up and Rangiku egging them on. Ichigo was talking quietly to Yuzu, probably trying to explain to her more of what was going on.

Toshiro tilted his head down a little to speak quietly to Karin. "You can stay here a day or two without danger. Say your goodbyes."

"And maybe not remember saying them anyway?" Karin asked just as quietly, turning her body to cuddle even more into his embrace. "Besides, everyone except my sister goes to Soul Society on occasion and can see me there. And if I become a Shinigami I may be able to come to earth and see them."

"But…" Toshiro trailed off. He wanted to believe that she would keep her memories, but if she didn't…

"Would it be better or worse for you if we have a few perfect days together and then I forget them?" Karin tipped her head up until she could see his face.

"Karin, you can't think like that…"

"You are." Karin said quietly. "You want to delay, because you'd rather wonder and hope for the best than have the worst happen." A single tear slid down her cheek, and he tenderly wiped it away. "But I couldn't concentrate on anything else. I couldn't be happy, not with that hanging over me. I just need to know."

Toshiro glanced up from her face, noticing that everyone in the room was now silent and watching them. "Abarai-taicho, the three of you should head back now. I don't want anyone else with us in the Senkaimon just in case something strange happens."

Rangiku smirked, as was expected of her, although her eyes blazed with shared pain. "It also means you won't be the first one to break the news to the others."

"Who gets to do that?" Renji wanted to know, then started sputtering as he noticed both Rangiku and Rukia looking at him. "Why me? He's your taicho…"

"Yes, but you are the ranking officer, and…"

"Children, children." Urahara tisked. "Let's go out to the backyard, and I'll open the gate for you. You can argue more then." He quickly shepherded them out.

"Please, Ichi-nii." Karin turned to her brother, seeing the protest on his face. "Stay here with Dad and Yuzu. Anything you say or do will feel like goodbye, and either you don't need to say it or I won't remember it anyway. I just need to get this over with. I need to know."

"Can I say goodbye at least?" Yuzu sniffed. "Since I can't go to Soul Society like Ichi-nii can."

Toshiro released Karin, and she went to sit next to her sister. "I may be able to come back someday and see you."

Orihime stood up, pulling Ichigo with her as Yuzu slid off his lap and into their sister's arms. "Let's give them some space." She headed to the backyard with Ichigo in tow, and Toshiro quietly followed behind them.

Ichigo turned to face Toshiro as soon as they entered the yard. Urahara stood by the Senkaimon, keeping it's doors open although the other three were already gone from sight. It was easier to keep it open for a few minutes than to open another one.

"Let me know the minute you arrive." Ichigo said, a hard look on his face.

Toshiro nodded. "We'll send word."

"I need you to answer one question, or I'll always wonder." Ichigo studied Toshiro's face, realizing he might get punched for even saying what he was about to. But he really did need to know. "Could you have saved her?"

Toshiro's face turned to stone. He understood the implied question. "I tried. I did everything I could to save her."

"You didn't hesitate? Even for a few seconds?" Ichigo pushed. "Knowing that if she died you could be with her…"

Toshiro's façade cracked enough to show his anger. "First off, I didn't know. In case you've been deaf for the past 10 minutes, or the past three years for that matter, souls loose their memory when they enter Soul Society. I thought her memories would be lost…and they still might be…"

Ichigo was about to comment, but Toshiro held up a hand, and the fierceness in his eyes stopped whatever Ichigo had been about to say. "But even if I knew they wouldn't be…Ichigo…do you think I wanted to watch her die in my arms? Do you think there's anything I wouldn't have done if it could have prevented her dying?" Only anger showed on his face, but his voice and eyes were raw with pain.

Ichigo held his eyes for a second or two, then nodded. "You understand why I had to ask."

Toshiro nodded, all anger gone. "I would have in your place."

"Take care of her." Ichigo replied.

Toshiro said seriously. "With my life."

Orihime sighed at the strangeness of male bonding, and was about to comment when Yuzu and Karin walked out, their father behind them.

"That was fun." Isshin was mumbling. "It's gonna be even more fun when they do the autopsy and find nothing wrong with the body."

"Sorry." Orihime replied meekly.

Isshin sighed. "It's okay. You _were_ trying to save her and all."

"Let's do this." Karin interrupted, smiling bravely.

Isshin slid an arm around each of his daughters. "You're sure this will work?" He asked Urahara, Karin having filled in him briefly on what they were planning.

"No, but it's our best idea." Urahara replied. "Our only idea, actually." He faced Toshiro. "The others are back in Seireitei, probably still bickering about who gets to tell the soutaicho what's been going on."

Toshiro nodded, and turned to Karin. "You're ready?" He reached for Hyorinmaru.

Ichigo stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Let me."

Toshiro nodded in understanding, moving to stand beside Karin as they all watched Ichigo draw Zangetsu and move to stand between his sisters, in front of the chain that dangled on the ground between them.

"This may hurt a little." Toshiro said to Karin as he took her hand. "But once we're in the Senkaimon it should stop hurting. As soon as he cuts the chain, I'm going to pull you onto my back and run. Okay?"

Karin nodded, her brave face still firmly in place.

"Karin…" Toshiro whispered hesitantly, knowing the others could hear him. "Just in case…I wanted to tell you…I lo…"

Karin put her fingers over his lips. "Just in case…I want to remember the first time you say that to me. If I lose my memories…and we can't get them back…I'll just get to fall for you all over again."

Toshiro smiled even as a tear trailed down his face, and he leaned in to kiss her, not caring that everyone was watching. "I won't give up on you, no matter what happens."

"I know." Karin smiled, then turned to Ichigo. "I'm ready."

Ichigo nodded, his eyes closing for a moment before he snapped them open and swung Zangetsu down, severing the chain in a single blow.

Toshiro was moving the instant it severed, pulling Karin unto his back and wrapping his arms behind himself to hold her. Her legs and arms wrapped around him even as he ran through the gate.

"You okay?" Toshiro asked as the gate closed behind them and he ran as fast as he could, hating that he couldn't use shunpo within the gate. Two Jigokucho flew ahead of him, and he hoped the fact that one had come for her as well was a good sign.

"Yeah." Karin gasped. "You were right, it hurt, but it doesn't anymore. The chain vanished as soon as we hit the gate, but I feel fine."

"It'll only take a few minutes to go through the gate, and then we'll know."

Karin tightened her arms around him. "Remember the first time you carried me like this?"

Toshiro released one of his arms from her back, grasping one of her hands where it lay across his chest. "It was the first night we kissed."

"To…" Karin's voice broke. "Toshiro…if I forget…please tell me. Tell me about the first time we met, and the first time we kissed. Tell me how we could just sit for hours talking about nothing, and about everything. About how we could sit in silence just holding each other…"

"I'll tell you everything." Toshiro whispered. "If you forget, I'll tell you everything. But you won't forget. You can't…"

Karin looked up from where her face was buried in his shoulder as he stopped running, and she saw the door directly in front of them.

"Put me down." She whispered.

He did so and turned to face her, wrapping his arms around her in a crushing embrace before kissing her thoroughly.

Their eyes opened and held for a second afterwards, then as one they turned and stepped through the gate hand in hand.

It deposited them on the Juubantai's practice field, and Toshiro was glad that it was empty.

His heart filled with dread, he turned to look at Karin, who was staring down at their joined hands.

"Karin?" He whispered after thirty or so seconds had gone by and she hadn't moved. "Karin?"

TBC…


	11. Three Little Words

Disclaimer: Kubo is god. Kubo is king. Tite Kubo owns everything. Except the quotes used at the start of each chapter. They were all found on the internet, and if they have an author I say who it is.

AN: See all author's notes in part one. Apologies to all for how I left the last chapter, but there's gotta be at least one cliffhanger in a story of this length. (Although, if you'd voted in the poll and checked on it's results, you would have known how this would go, as I said I would abide by the voting and I did.) This chapters a little shorter than the past ones, but I really only have one more part to go after this and was trying to find the right place to leave it…

Oh, and one of the reviews on the last part commented on how it's accepted in fanfic that souls loose their memory when they enter Soul Society, yet when Chad and all the others first go there the child he'd helped (who had been stuck in the parrot) remembered him, so it could also be cannon that souls remember their lives. Does anyone have any comments on this?

Oh, and I've just finished watching the latest episode of Bleach, and have two words for you all._ Boob buckets! _Okay, I lied, I need three more. _Hyorinmaru - ice machine! _I'm normally not a big fan of filler, but at least they made it entertaining!

* * *

No Warm Memories

By Lady Callista

Chapter 11: Three Little Words

_OoOoOoOoOoO_

_People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy._

_-Anton Chekhov_

_OoOoOoOoOoO_

'_Remember. Remember. Remember.'_

Her left hand firmly in Toshiro's right, Karin chanted one word in her head over and over as they walked through the door together.

She was staring at their joined hands as the gate closed behind them, but she had to close her eyes abruptly as a wave of dizziness passed over her.

'_No. No! NO!'_

She squeezed her eyes shut as she concentrated on Toshiro, terrified that the dizziness was the beginning of forgetting her past life.

_Be calm, child._

'_Kyokon? What's going on?'_

_Seireitei is made of reishi, child. You are simply not used to it. You will adjust in a moment._

"Karin?" Toshiro's voice sounded on the edge of her consciousness.

_Speak, child. He is worried for you._

'_I want to, but…I'm so dizzy. And you feel different too…strange…you…' _

Karin saw the cloaked figure of Kyokon in her mind's eye. In the past two years, she'd never been able to see beneath the cloak her power always wore. Now it seemed to be vanishing before her eyes, showing a humanoid figure with greenish blue skin and…

'_Kyokon? What's wrong?'_

"Karin!?!" Toshiro's voice again.

She knew she needed to answer him, to reassure him that she hadn't forgotten, but the dizziness, and the sudden feeling that her insides were going to explode…

There was a flash of blinding light.

"KYOKON!!"

Toshiro felt her hand clamp down on his as she screamed, and a second later she fell to her knees as he felt a huge explosion of reiatsu from her.

Even as he knelt beside her, starting to gather her shaking body into his arms, any worries about her memory were momentarily eclipsed as he looked at her right hand. The hand which was tightly gripping the hilt of a zanpakuto.

"Kyokon." Karin whispered in awe, then looked up and met his eyes with a beaming smile. "Toshiro - it worked!" She launched herself into his arms.

Toshiro couldn't help but laugh with her as he stood and spun her around, then set her on her feet and crushed her into his embrace, his face buried in the side of her neck. "Karin? You remember?"

"Yes!" Karin shouted loudly enough to make him cringe, as she was right next to his ear. "I remember everything! I remember you, and…"

Toshiro pulled back enough to see her face, and the glowing expression on it had to be more beautiful than anything he'd ever seen. "Karin, I l…"

"Tai-cho!" Rangiku's voice interrupted what he'd been about to say.

Both Karin and Toshiro turned to face the voice, which had just used shunpo to appear a meter away from them.

"Yamamoto-soutaicho wants to see both of you immediately." Although the comment wasn't delivered with a smile, the couple got to watch the smile bloom over her face as she took in the zanpakuto in Karin's hand.

"Can't it wait until the morning?" Karin asked cluelessly.

"Unfortunately, no." Toshiro replied as he sighed. "It is not wise to keep the Soutaicho waiting. Matsumoto, will you go back to the real world and tell Kurosaki and the others that Karin remembers everything?"

"Of course." Rangiku smiled. "And Karin, until you get things sorted out here, you're welcome to bunk with me."

"I don't think that will be necessary." Toshiro said before Karin could reply.

Rangiku raised an eyebrow, but managed to refrain from commenting. A brief comment to her earpiece later she vanished through the newly reformed Senkaimon.

Toshiro kept Karin's hand as he walked with her through Seireitei, explaining a few things to her briefly as they approached the Ichibantai's offices. She seemed tenser than she had been before, but he assumed that was because she was about to meet the man who ran Seireitei.

"He can't kick me out or anything, can he?" Karin asked quietly as they finally stood outside of the office.

Toshiro lowered the hand he had raised to knock. "No, he can't. Don't worry about it, I'm sure everyone will be pleased to have you here. I'm the only one who can get in trouble, and now that you're dead there's not much they can do."

Karin tried for a brave smile, but it wavered around the corners.

"It's okay." Toshiro's face did the almost-smile thing as he leaned in to kiss her. She tucked her head into his shoulder at the same time, so he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead instead. "This'll all be over soon and we can just be together."

Karin faked a brave smile again, and Toshiro gave his almost-smile back before he knocked on the door.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Well, that was easier than I expected." Toshiro said as he opened the door to his house and ushered Karin in ahead of him.

She entered quietly, her eyes on the floor as she toed off her shoes and stood without looking at him.

"Karin - are you alright?" Toshiro questioned worriedly as he left his shoes beside hers and took her hand to pull her further into his house.

"It's just so strange here." Karin replied hesitantly as she glanced furtively around his living room. "In some ways it's like hom…like the real world, but I just saw four guys fighting full-out on the street, and no one passing them even batted an eye…"

"There are some things that just take getting used to." Toshiro replied as he paused awkwardly. "Various divisions specialize in certain things, and there is one whose greatest joy is fighting. They only bother people outside their division when they've been drinking too much…"

"Which from what Orihime-chan says is pretty much all the time with a lot of the Shinigami…" Karin offered quietly.

Toshiro shrugged, then extended the movement to deposit his haori on the arm of the couch. "Some do choose to entertain themselves that way. Speaking of, what are you interested in doing right now? Are you tired? Or hungry? Or…"

Karin stopped his babbling by placing her fingers over his lips. "I'm actually pretty tired. But…why did you want me to stay here…???"

Toshiro tilted his head in confusion. "Where else would you stay? You know me best of anyone here, and I…"

"But what are you expecting?" Karin turned red, and even she wasn't certain if it was from embarrassment or a flash of fire running through her blood.

Toshiro dropped his hands from where he'd just placed them on her shoulders. She saw the moment the realization dawned in his eyes, and saw pain flash through them before they snapped shut.

When Toshiro opened his eyes again his face was a perfect icy mask. "I had arranged a guest room for you, believing that as long as I could shield the room and know that you were alright it would be okay. What I wanted more than anything was to make certain that you were okay. But I began to realize that was not enough. What I wanted was to hold you in my arms as I fell asleep. I wanted to have a good night's sleep, my dreams filled with the knowledge that when I woke you would still be in my arms. But I have no right to ask for…"

"Toshiro." Karin hushed him again by placing her fingers over his lips. "Would you really just hold me tonight? Let me fall asleep in your arms knowing that when I wake you'll still be there?"

"That's what I want more than anything at this very second." Toshiro murmured as he leaned in and kissed her gently.

"Where's your bedroom?" Karin breathed.

Toshiro directed her, and soon the two stood breathless beside his bed. It was Karin who reached for his belt. "I just want you to hold me…but I want my skin on yours…"

Toshiro helped her to remove his top, then helped in removing her own. And when she reached for his hakama he was the one who stilled her hands. "I'm just holding you, remember?" He drew her gently down unto the bed, pulling her head onto his chest. "Everything else can wait until tomorrow."

"There's one thing I don't want to wait for." Karin whispered as she looked up at him.

Toshiro swallowed loudly. "Karin… I love you."

A single tear slipping down her cheek, Karin pulled him into a kiss. "And I love you."

TBC…

* * *

Omake: Radio Kon

Kon: Well, sorry for the brief delay in broadcasting, tonight we'd like to welcome Kyoraku Shunsui, Hachibantai taicho. How are you today, taicho?

Shunsui: Oh, I'm getting on alright. Especially since I have a break from fighting.

Kon: What do you mean, a break from fighting? I thought all of you were…

Shunsui: Yeah, so did I. I finally got to the point where I figured I might as well fight, cause it was boring just talking, when I'm told that we're delaying everything for a while…

Kon: Why? What's going on?

Shunsui: Well, someone said something about this thing called 'filler,' I don't really understand it though…

Kon: Oh, well, if you're talking about the episode I just watched, then 'filler' has something to do with all the members of the Shinigami Women's Association in swimsuits, and…Kyoraku-taicho? Where are you going? Hello?

_(AN2: This chapter written the day I watched 228. (And I must say, one of the most amusing filler eps ever. I'm a girl, and I still have the two-page spread of all the girls in their swimsuits as my wallpaper cause it's just awesome.)_

* * *

Glossary:

Reishi: literally "Spirit particles," they are present everywhere, but Seireitei and Hueco Mundo are made of nothing but them. Shinigami, Quincy, and Hollow can all gather and use them to fight or do other cool tricks.


	12. Fire and Ice

Disclaimer: Kubo is god. Kubo is king. Tite Kubo owns everything. Except the quotes used at the start of each chapter. They were all found on the internet, and if they have an author I say who it is.

AN: See all author's notes in part one. Thanks to all the people who have reviewed and PM-ed with me, you've made my entrance into the Bleach fanficdom fun and entertaining. This part is dedicated to all of you. You finally get a full explanation of the title of the story! (And yes, I had it planned this way all along. My question about whether or not souls retained their memories in the last chapter was merely to see what people thought of the idea without giving anything away.) One more part to go after this. (at least I'm almost sure there's only one…)

_Oh, and my apologies to all for the slowness of this update. I know you were used to two parts a week, but my grandfather had a stroke a few days after that last part posted, and I've been dealing with family stuff and not really in the mood to write serious drama. But he's finally starting to do better, and I needed to get this written for me as much as for all of you. I have so much invested in this story, and I thank you for your understanding in the delay._

_

* * *

  
_

No Warm Memories

By Lady Callista

Chapter 12: Fire and Ice

_OoOoOoOoOoO_

_In fire there is the spark of chaos and destruction, the seed of life. _

_In ice there is perfect tranquility, perfect order, and the silence of death._

_-from a Magic the Gathering card_

_OoOoOoOoOoO_

Toshiro did not sleep. Nor, despite his comment to Karin about falling asleep with her in his arms, had he really expected to. As she slept peacefully in his arms, his mind kept running over the events of the past day. And sometimes much further back.

He let his fingers trail lightly up and down her spine, ghosting over the back of her bra in favor of the warm skin on either side. He was careful to keep his touch light enough to not disturb her, but he just couldn't stop touching her.

And judging by the fact that she'd been asleep for almost six hours, and the only time she had moved she had cuddled closer into him, she seemed to feel the same way.

He gazed down upon her face for the umpteenth time, still barely able to believe she was in Seireitei. In his arms. In his bed.

Despite the casual way she'd agreed once she understood he only wanted to hold her, this was the first time they'd slept in the same bed. She'd fallen asleep in his arms once in the underground room under Urahara Shoten, but that wasn't the same thing.

He'd almost borrowed a page from Ichigo's book and choked on air when she'd started removing his gi, and then her own top, saying that she wanted to feel her skin on his. Not that he had objected in any way, for he not only understood her need but felt the same way. It had just surprised him that she had been the one to do it, probably because she knew he never would have suggested it.

It had been so easy in the dark, easy for what should have been such a huge moment to seem casual and normal. Because it had been about comfort, and reassurance, and just closeness. Now, as the early morning sunlight filtered into the room, he struggled to keep it that simple. For the sun cast the room, and the bare skin of her back, with its warm, soft glow. She looked so radiant…

He rarely complimented her about her looks, knowing she preferred being praised for strength, or bravery, or athleticism, but he'd slowly been getting her used to accepting compliments of a more romantic nature.

She was getting used to receiving them about as slowly as he was growing comfortable giving them. She didn't accept them gracefully yet, but at least she'd stopped snorting in laughter and telling him not to be cheesy.

He had just dropped a light kiss on her forehead when he felt her begin to shake.

"Yuzu…no…no…"

Toshiro shook her, gently at first then slightly more forcefully as she didn't wake up. "Karin. Wake up, Karin!"

Karin jolted awake, sliding partly off of him as both her hands flew to cover her stomach.

Toshiro just held her tighter, whispering quickly, "You're okay, Karin. You're in Soul Society with me. Everything's okay."

"Toshiro." Fully awake now, she whispered his name as she threw her arms around him and buried herself against his chest. "I…I was dying…over and over…"

He stroked her hair and back gently as he murmured anything he could think of to try and calm her down. Inwardly, he was cursing.

Dying was the most traumatic thing a soul could go through, and to remember it fully…

Someone should have thought that this would happen. He, of all people, should have known.

Karin slowly quietly down until she lay still and silent in his arms. Several moments passed with them just holding each other before she said quietly, "This is why we're supposed to forget our lives, isn't it?"

Toshiro sighed deeply, still playing with her short cap of hair. Now that none of the humans were around, he could finally tell her what none of the Shinigami had been able to say while they were in the real world with the others. "Everyone knows that souls lose all memory of their lives when they come here. That is not, however, entirely true. Most people remember bits and pieces, some remember more. The stronger and more intense the memory, the better the chance that it's retained."

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Karin propped herself up with her arms on his chest so that she could look him in the face. "I was so worried…"

"It's forbidden to speak of it outside of Soul Society, or in the presence of anyone who is still alive. Souls are told this once, and then it is never spoken of again." Toshiro replied quietly, glancing down at her as he finished speaking. He blushed and then immediately glanced away.

Karin was confused for a second, then glanced down to figure out what he had seen and realized that with the position she was in the top half of her chest was clearly visible, especially as it was held up by an under-wire.

She turned even redder than he had, spinning away until she sat on the bed with her back to him, her arms crossed over her chest. It had seemed so easy in the dark. So easy to cuddle up skin to skin, his warmth a reminder that he was with her.

She hadn't considered what would happen in the morning.

Karin felt the bed move, and a moment later shivered as his lips touched her shoulder blade lightly. The next thing she felt was cloth, and she tilted her head just enough to see his black gi sliding over her shoulders.

Toshiro settled the garment around her gently, unable to resist leaving his arms loosely around her waist. He knew she was slightly uncomfortable, and he was as well. Yet as hard as he tried, he couldn't get the vision of her out of his mind. "You are so beautiful."

Karin was silent for a moment, and he was about to move away and give her some space when she shifted enough to slide her arms into the gi, and then wrapped her arms over his where they wrapped around her.

"So what do you remember of your life?" She asked quietly, praying that he would allow her to change the topic. Her emotions were riding a roller coaster. Part of her wanted to beg him to let her go, the other part of her wanted to beg him to touch her everywhere. She knew she wasn't ready for that and would regret it later, but every time he touched her everything else slipped from her mind.

Toshiro couldn't stop himself from tensing at the question she asked in complete innocence. He accepted the change of subject, and had known this was a question she would ask, but he still had to try and steady himself for what he knew was about to come. "That question is the reason we say we have no memories." He whispered. "As I said, the strongest memories are normally the ones that stay with you. For most people, that means the happiest and saddest moments of their lives. No one wants to be reminded of the happy ones, because they are about a life and people who are lost to us. They are something we must move on from. And obviously no one wants to remember the most painful moments of their lives either."

"So most people remember their deaths?" Karin asked the obvious question, thinking back to her nightmare.

"No. We don't know why, but most are spared from that."

His voice was so quiet she could barely hear him, and his body had tensed to the point that she quickly realized he himself was not included in that 'most.'

"I'm sorry." Karin said quietly. "I…I can see why no one speaks of it."

Toshiro squeezed her tighter for a moment, then withdrew his arms from her and stood, walking over to the window and putting his back to her as he stared out at nothing.

"I don't remember much of my life thankfully, because I don't remember anything happy. I know I lived in a small village high in the mountains. It was always cold - we never had enough money for proper clothing, or firewood, or food. I don't remember a single moment when I did anything other than work. Not a moment where I played with friends, or laughed, or hugged my mother."

His voice broke, and Karin rose and crossed over to him, hesitating only a moment before wrapping her arms against his bare torso and leaning against his back. "You don't have to tell me…"

He wrapped his arms around hers, an exact reversal of how he'd held her only a few moments ago.

"Except for one memory." He whispered. "I had a sister a few years older than me, and one spring afternoon her and I were outside playing with some of our friends. It's the only time I remember laughing and having fun. It's such a good memory at first. I don't know exactly what happened, but one second we were playing and running and laughing, and the next second Onee-chan was screaming. Somehow she'd gotten onto the river, and the ice had broken beneath her. I went out after her, and I pulled her out…I got her out…but I got wet, and the current was so strong. It was so cold, and it stole the breath from my body, made it so I couldn't move. The current carried me downstream, pulled me under this ice… I'm sure it was only a few moments, but it felt like forever. It was so cold… And then I tried to scream, and I was choking on the ice water, and…"

His voice broke again, and this time Karin was silent, although she held him as tightly as she could. Tears streamed down her cheeks in sympathetic pain, and she knew from his voice and the slight tremors running through his body that he was crying as well.

"The worst part is that I don't even know if I saved her." He said after a moment. "We didn't have a doctor in the village, and the water had been so cold… I was never warm after that. From the instant I arrived in Soul Society, I was always cold inside. I don't know if it's because I was cold in every memory I had, or if it's because I froze to death, or…"

This time his voice cut off in a sob, and Karin moved around him to hug him tightly, her face tucked into the side of his neck. He cried quietly in her arms, the shaking of his body and the tears she felt sprinkling down her cheek the only indicators of his pain.

As his tears began to lesson, she offered quietly, "I said you didn't have to tell me."

"I don't ever want to keep anything from you." He offered quietly, his arms still latched around her. "I want you to know everything about me, to understand me as no one else can."

Karin pulled back just enough to look up into his eyes, surprised that he was still several inches taller than her. Although he had grown a bit over the past few years, whereas she herself had barely gotten taller, so it made sense. And whenever she looked up into his eyes, she found she didn't mind being short.

She just stared into his teal eyes for a moment, in some ways still awed that she got to see his feelings in them even though almost no one else ever did. Then she gently reached up and wiped the vestiges of tears from his face. "I love you so much."

"I love you." He whispered back. "You're the only one who has ever made me feel warm inside. When I thought I might lose you…"

Karin sighed, and then rose up slightly to kiss him.

Their lips locked together with more intensity than either could remember showing. The kiss spiraled out of control quickly, her hands sliding up into his hair even as his locked around her back. Their tongues tangled wildly, which was not new for them. But what was new was that he was shirtless, and with his gi untied around her and hanging loosely she was nearly so as well.

Karin's hands were the first ones to move into untouched territory as she pulled her body away from his enough to run her hands up his hard stomach to his chest, marveling at the feeling of his muscles moving and shifting under her hands. He gasped for her as her fingers brushed over his nipples, and he broke the kiss enough to pull back and look into her eyes.

She held his gaze as she pulled her hands from his chest to let her arms fall to her sides, shrugging her shoulders enough to make his gi fall off her shoulders and to the floor.

Toshiro kept his eyes on her face as she shifted her shoulders, although he did remove his hands from her back enough for the gi to slide off. "Karin…"

"Shhh." She whispered, and her voice was steady although her cheeks were flaming pink. "You said only I made you feel warm. Let me make you feel more…"

TBC...

* * *

_AN2: Yes, I know I'm evil..._

* * *

Omake: Friday Night Drinking Group

"I know I should warn them, but it's just so funny." Rangiku laughed along with the rest of her friends. "I almost wanna start betting with the other seats about how many new Shinigami will call him a kid."

"But this one wouldn't believe him when he said he was the taicho?" Renji laughed as he refilled cups for everyone. "Surely the haori is a dead giveaway..."

Rangiku giggled as she reached for her cup, overturning two empty bottles in the process. "He told Hitsugaya to stop playing in his father's clothes...he thought he was the taicho's kid."

"Oh, I wish I could have seen that." Ikkaku was laughing so hard that he was holding his sides.

Momo laughed suddenly. "I went to see Shiro-chan a few hours ago, and these was a Shinigami sitting seiza in front of his office with three different binding wards on him. Toshiro wouldn't say what he'd done, just that he was an example..."

Rangiku laughed all the harder. "Yeah, that was probably him..."

* * *

Glossary:

Onee-chan: A term of address used for an older sister.

Seiza: Now considered a formal way of sitting, it was once much more common. Ever seen anyone kneeling with their legs completely under them, their feet under their butt and their back perfectly straight? That's seiza. It's very uncomfortable at first, and takes a bit of getting used to if you want to stay in it for more than 5 or 10 minutes. At least if you want your legs to be awake enough to be able to walk once you stand up.


	13. Forever

Disclaimer: Kubo is god. Kubo is king. Tite Kubo owns everything. Except the quotes used at the start of each chapter. They were all found on the internet, and if they have an author I say who it is.

AN: See all author's notes in part one. Well, I didn't get blasted nearly as much as I thought I would for implying it was about to turn lemon. Although the one random reviewer who simply asked "why is Karin super slutty?" kinda bothered me. She's with a guy she loves that she's been with for two years, and you think she's a slut for implying she's willing to sleep with him? Especially after they almost lost each other? You don't even know her reasoning, as the last part of the chapter was written almost entirely from Toshiro's POV. If it's just because she's 14, then I sort of understand, although I think that given the life she's lived she's emotionally much more mature than most 14 year olds and could in theory be ready for sex. But anyway, all of this doesn't really matter. Here's the final chapter… (Although I will probably write a one-shot M-rated fic with them at some point, set several years in the future. It will come after some of my other stories get written, once my storyline is more to that point.)

Thanks to all who have reviewed and enjoyed this story. I'm gonna take a short break, especially with my family stuff, but look for the first chapter of "Behind His Mask," my Rangiku/Byakuya fic, to come soon. It's the next story in the "After The Winter War" series. Yes, I'm gonna take the crack-pairing lots of people secretly love and see if I can actually make it make sense in a major story. Which should be interesting. Because one of my reviewers gave me the best description of Bya that I've ever heard… "The stick up his ass has a stick up its ass." So how do him and Ran find common ground? Here's hoping I can keep this believeable and not too OOC…

* * *

No Warm Memories

By Lady Callista

Chapter 13: Forever

_OoOoOoOoOoO_

_"There are no happy endings. Because nothing ends."_

_- from 'The Last Unicorn'  
_

_OoOoOoOoOoO_

Karin held his gaze as she pulled her hands from his chest to let her arms fall to her sides, shrugging her shoulders enough to make his gi fall off her shoulders and to the floor.

Toshiro kept his eyes on her face as she shifted her shoulders, although he did remove his hands from her back enough for the gi to slide off. "Karin…"

"Shhh." She whispered, and her voice was steady although her cheeks were flaming pink. "You said only I made you feel warm. Let me make you feel more…"

Karin leaned in to kiss him again, and although he kissed her back he kept control this time, keeping the kiss gentle, his hands resting lightly on her waist.

His mind was whirling as her hands slowly slid up his stomach again. Although her hands on his chest was nothing new, he found it a very different and much more distracting sensation now that he was shirtless.

He was also wondering what had brought this on.

Although they'd kissed all the time, they had only begun to do so deeply and at length in the past few months. Although they'd held hands since the beginning, and he'd enjoyed cupping her cheek when he kissed her, or holding her in his arms to cuddle, they'd only recently begun to touch more than that. And still, it had always been innocent. Her hands resting on his chest while they kissed, or his running up and down her back. She'd liked to wrap her hands around his upper arms, often laughing as he purposely flexed his biceps. He'd liked running his fingers through her hair, and had discovered that he could make her shiver by gently massaging the back of her neck as they kissed.

Yet she'd always been slightly shy, waiting for him to kiss or touch her first before returning the affection. It had been part of the enjoyment for Toshiro, the slow building of trust, the full enjoyment of each small step, each new closeness that both were comfortable with. For despite the differences in their ages, when it came to romance and 'being a couple' he had no more experience than she did.

Although he'd had much longer than she had to think about it and grow comfortable with the idea, if not the actual acts. Notwithstanding the fact that he enjoyed savoring each small step, he was fully comfortable and ready to make love to her. He hadn't thought she was anywhere near ready, even now he didn't, but she seemed to be implying that she was.

A moment later he knew he was right, for her hands slid down to take his own from her waist and guide them around to the clasp of her bra.

Toshiro broke the kiss gently, taking a small step back as he kept her hands in his own and let them fall to their sides.

"Karin, wait." He whispered. "Slow down."

She looked up at him with an expression that he couldn't understand. "Don't you want this?"

He let go of one of her hands to cup her cheek. "Do you? Last night you were more nervous than I've ever seen you when you misunderstood why I wanted you to stay here. Why are you doing this now?"

"Because I don't want you to be cold inside." She whispered, a single tear sliding down her cheek before he brushed it away. "I want to make you as warm and happy as you make me."

Toshiro smiled gently as he understood, and couldn't help feeling humbled by her. "All I need for that is to know you love me. To have you with me. You don't have to do anything else until you're ready to and want to. For yourself, not for me."

"I am. Ready. I am, I mean…when you touch me I want to…I think…"

The instant she went from 'I am' to 'I think' he knew he'd been right earlier. He also knew she was stubborn enough to try and force herself to do this because she thought he wanted it.

And because he couldn't in absolute truth tell her that he didn't, he went another route.

Toshiro leaned in to kiss her deeply, loving the feel of her going pliant in her arms. Then he pulled back and held her gaze as he feathered his fingers over the sides of her neck before tracing her collarbone gently. She sighed, her eyes sliding shut as her hands came up to rest on his waist. She swayed slightly closer to him, and although the temptation was there he resisted it and kept his eyes on her face, waiting for what he knew he would see.

Leaving one hand resting on her shoulder with his thumb tracing lightly up and down the side of her neck, he slid his other hand down the front of her body until his fingers danced over the top of her breast. He saw her face slide from pleasure to nervousness, and leaned in to kiss her as he relaxed his wrist to lightly cup one breast, still covered by a bra, in his palm.

This time it was Karin who pulled back, her eyes opening wide and her body vibrating slightly with something other than pleasure. He saw the uncertainly on her face.

But there was another emotion playing through her eyes as well, the same one he had seen earlier and hadn't understood. He knew now, and knew he'd been unable to place it because it was an expression he'd never seen on her face. It was fear. But it was fear almost covered by selflessness. The selflessness he'd seen in her before, but never covering fear. He'd never seen her truly afraid before, and although he knew it wasn't really of him but was of what she thought was about to happen, it still hurt his heart a little. She acted so mature that on occasion it was difficult to remember how young she really was.

"All I need is to know that you love me." He repeated his earlier words softly as he dropped both his hands to rest lightly on her waist again. "Do you think it would make me warmer or happier inside if you pushed yourself to do something you don't want to do?"

"I do want to." Karin whispered. "Every time I think about you touching me, about touching you… Whenever I think about it I think about how amazing it is, and how much I want to feel more of what you make me feel… But I think that thinking about it and actually doing it are two entirely different things."

He smiled slightly and drew her into a gentle hug, his hand again running soothingly through her hair. "We have as long as you need." His whispered in her ear, unable to help himself from kissing the top of it gently. "The good thing about being dead is that your life suddenly gets a lot longer."

Karin managed to laugh. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm not ready for…"

Toshiro cut her off. "Don't apologize. If it's not right for you, it wouldn't be for me either. Karin, you've never asked and I've never brought it up, but I've never done this either. You're my first…my only…girlfriend. Just because I'm older I've obviously thought more about it, and you're right that I would be ready to… But I don't need to. I'm not even sure I would want to. I like how our relationship is going. I enjoy savoring every moment."

"Every moment." Karin whispered. "I know once I start at the academy I'll have to live there, but can I stay here until then? Can I stay with you?"

"Of course." Toshiro replied. "You didn't even have to ask. Do you want me to have one of the guest rooms…"

Karin shook her head, cutting him off. "Can you just hold me every night? Can we lay awake for hours talking about stupid things? Can I go to sleep knowing that if I have a nightmare you'll comfort me when I wake up?"

Toshiro smiled fully. "It's a few hours yet until I have to be anywhere. Would you like to get a little more sleep?"

Karin shook her head again. "No, I'm awake. But can we lay back down? I've missed being in your arms. Can we just talk? I want to know more about Soul Society, and the Gotei Juusantai, and such."

"We can talk about whatever you want."

Karin smiled at his response, and moved over to sit on the bed.

Toshiro followed her, bending down to retrieve his gi and offering it to her again.

Although she blushed, she shook her head and curled up on her side with her back to him. "My bra covers the same thing as my swimsuit top, and I wear that to the beach where anyone can see."

Toshiro chuckled as he spooned himself behind her, one arm curled lightly over her to rest his hand on her bare stomach. "So do you blush the entire time you're on the beach?"

"No." She said quietly, "But there's no one there that looks at me the way you do."

Toshiro sighed. "I should probably warn you that a lot of people here will be looking at you. You're going to get a lot of attention, and not all of it will be good."

Karin bit her lip, beginning to absently run her fingers up and down his arm. "Because of you? I mean, because of us?"

"And because of your brother. People will compare you to him, expecting you to grow in power at the same rate he did. Because you're the only student who will already have a zanpakuto when they enter the Academy. The only student in the whole history of Seireitei who already had one when they started the Academy. But yes, mostly because of us."

"Does that bother you?" Karin asked quietly. "Should I not stay here? Should we go on pretending that..."

"No." Toshiro replied just as quietly. "It doesn't bother me, I've never cared what people think, not really. And I don't want to have to pretend anymore. But my position is secure, most people wouldn't dare to say anything to me about this. It will be much worse for you once people, especially your fellow students, find out that we're together."

"I've never cared what people thought either." Karin replied. "And it will be nice to be able to see each other all the time, and not have to pretend anymore. And as far as having a zanpakuto, I'm not sure that will help me much. I don't know how to use a katana; I don't know how to fight that way. And didn't Matsumoto-san say that my powers might change once I came here?"

Toshiro nodded. "I'll take you out to practice someday soon and we'll see what you can do."

Karin agreed. "Sounds good. So now my question is what should I do with myself until classes start? I know Yamamoto-soutaicho said that I could go anywhere, but I really only know you and Rukia-chan, and I know you're both busy with your divisions."

"Well, I do have to go to the office in a few hours, but I should be done by noon. We can spend the afternoon wandering around. I can show you places you might like, and I can introduce you to some friends. Or you could always just wander around by yourself, I'm sure everyone knows by now who you are and will want to meet you."

As if to emphasize his words, the doorbell rang less than a second after he had finished speaking. Toshiro sighed, kissing the back of her neck before reluctantly releasing her and rising, putting on his gi as he headed for the door.

"Do you want me to stay in here?" Karin asked quietly.

"No, I'm pretty sure I know who it is, and I'm sure she's anxious to meet you." Toshiro replied as he pulled the bedroom door closed behind him to allow her to get her shirt back on. His voice came through the door. "Besides, we don't have to hide anymore, remember?"

Karin pulled her shirt on quickly, running her fingers through her sleep-tousled hair before reaching for the doorknob. She was just about to turn it when she heard an excited female voice.

"Is she really here, Shiro-chan?"

"She'll be out in a minute, Momo. I figured it was you." Toshiro replied.

He must have glanced towards his bedroom door as he spoke, for the next thing Karin heard from the female voice, from Momo, was a giggle. "Couldn't bear to let her out of your sight?"

"If you'd almost lost Izuru-san, would you let him out of your sight?"

"Fair enough." Momo replied. "But you know people are going to talk. And they're going to get the wrong idea."

"I know, so does she." Toshiro replied. "But neither of us really cares about gossip. We've waited so long to be able to be together..."

They fell silent after that, and Karin opened the door quietly and stepped into the living room to find a girl who didn't look much older than she was sitting on the couch next to Toshiro. They both rose as she entered.

"Kira Momo." Toshiro introduced them. "Kurosaki Karin."

Both girls bowed to each other, Momo with a smile, and Karin with a look of slight nervousness on her face. The fact that the girl had called Toshiro 'Shiro-chan' said that they were very close, and Karin wondered what the girl would think of her.

"Kira-fukutaicho." Karin replied, taking in the armband and remembering all the things she'd learned about the Gotei Juusantai. The name didn't ring a bell, but she was wearing the armband of the Gobantai. Slightly confused, as she'd thought the fukutaicho of that division was Toshiro's childhood friend Hinamori, Karin was cautious. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Momo giggled. "Call me Momo, please. Kira-fukutaicho is my husband."

Karin smiled, realizing her mistake. She'd completely forgotten Toshiro mentioning a few months back that his friend had gotten married. "Momo-san, I've heard a lot about you. I'm Karin."

"I know." Momo smiled. "Although I haven't heard as much about you as I would have liked to, we have plenty of time to get to know each other. Any friend of Shiro-chan's is a friend of mine."

"Thank you." Karin smiled at the girl. "I'm sure we'll be good friends."

Toshiro's eyes widened slightly. His best friend and his girlfriend becoming friends. Sharing secrets about him, talking about him... this couldn't be good.

Momo laughed as she saw the look in his eyes, although her laughter faded and a soft look graced her face as Karin crossed the room to him and she saw how the two of them looked at each other.

She waited till Karin's attention was back on her before saying quietly, "Welcome to the rest of your life. I hope you, and Toshiro, will be very happy."

"I'm sure we will be, Momo." Toshiro said quietly. "I'm sure we will be."

THE END


	14. Omake: Radio Kon

Disclaimer: Kubo is god. Kubo is king. Tite Kubo owns everything. If I owned them the show might not be suitable for children.

AN: Yeah, I know the story is over, and some of you hate omake (although many of you seem to love them), but I figured this was the best place to announce my newest story, as the last story in the series said I was gonna do IchiHime next, and well that's not working out so well, so, read and see… (There's a reason this is after the HitsuKarin story) I also hoped writing something fun like this would get my muse thinking again, and I think it worked. Oh, and so no one gets smart with me, I know it's _Radio_ Kon, but I just assume there's a video camera there as well.

*Oh, and, Spoiler Warning, not for anything cannon but for Behind This Mask and In Times That She Cried, two other stories in my AtWW series.*

* * *

Special Omake (aka Sequel Info)

By Lady Callista

"Hi everyone, thanks so much for tuning in tonight. We have an extra long program, and the perfect guest for it." Kon said with a grin to the camera. "Joining us tonight on Radio Kon is a very unexpected guest, so let's all of us please welcome Lady Callista, the author of the After the Winter War series. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, tonight we are joined by one of the many people who has decided to reject a fictional reality and substitute their own…fictional reality. Thanks for being here, Callista-sama."

"Hi, it's great to…wait…Callista-sama?" Lady Callista replied, a confused look on her face.

"Well, you are nobility, are you not?" Kon's face took on a confused look as well.

"Well no, it's just a…" She trailed off, realizing there was really no good reason to disabuse him of his conclusion. "Yes, well, it's great to be here tonight."

"So, before I get to the things our viewers wanted to ask you, I just have one thing I need to know. Isn't "No Warm Memories" complete? Why did you want this interview to be shown here?"

Callista gave him a mysterious smile. "I'll be revealing that a little later."

Kon gave an exaggerated sigh, then gave the camera an exaggerated grin. "So, I think the most important question, the one everyone wants answered, is this: When is Kon going to get his own story?"

Callista laughed, "Well, I don't have one planned, but…"

"Because I should totally have my own story, but if you can't do that, I should at least be in one, I mean, people want to see me, and…"

"Well, I planned on doing IchiHime's story soon, and it would be easy to put you in that one. Although I'll have to decide what cute little costume Yuzu-chan should make, and…" Callista cut him off with a smirk, and was unsurprised when she was cut off in return.

"Oi, well, maybe I don't need to be in a story after all." Kon said quickly. "You're probably not a good enough author to capture my magnificence."

"I'm sure I'm not." Callista managed with a straight face.

"So, I am curious as to why you suddenly wanted to be on Radio Kon."

"Well, when I finished my latest story in the series, I told everyone that I would be doing Orihime and Ichigo's story next, but I'm having problems with it…"

"What do you mean you're having problems?" Ichigo yelled as he kicked in the door to the studio, causing all the people who had been listening at the door to topple into the room like dominos. "I only had, like, one scene in "No Warm Memories," and I wasn't really in the other two stories in your series at all, and…"

"Actually, there are three other stories, why does everyone forget One Step Behind Him, I mean, I know it was kinda weird, but…" Callista began, only to be cut off.

"Hey, at least you get mentioned by people occasionally." Ishida retorted as he picked himself up, making sure his cape was hanging perfectly. "My name never comes up."

"That's not true, Ishida-kun." Orihime replied comfortingly, smiling at Ichigo as he offered her a hand to help her to her feet. "Your name was in NWM once, and you even got to shoot your bow. Besides, she mentioned 'four humans' at the remembrance ceremonies, so you know she hasn't forgotten about you."

"Yeah," Kira Izuru replied as he shoved Renji off of him enough to rise and move further away from the pile of bodies still tangled in the doorway. "I mean, I didn't really get any lines at the ceremonies either, and she likes me enough that she gave me my own story."

"She didn't give you a story, she gave you a one-shot." Renji moved more into the room as well. "At least I get a chapter-fic, although she is taking forever to write it."

"Hello guys, sitting right here." Callista said sarcastically, knowing she would be ignored now that the Shinigami had begun to argue.

Shunsui pushed his way into the room as well, smirking as he took a slug from a jug of sake. "At least your story has a name and a basic outline, she hasn't even started working on mine yet, she was so infatuated with that odd pairing she loves so much…"

"What's odd about me and Byakuya together?" Rangiku replied as she sauntered into the room, swiping the jug of sake and taking a swig before passing it back and perching on the desk in front of Callista. "Although I will say, I'm kinda glad it's over. It's hard work being the main character in a story."

"Tell me about it." Ichigo mumbled, only to be ignored by everyone.

"And we all know how much you dislike hard work, Ran-chan." Shunsui shot back.

"Hey, at least you got to have some fun in your story, Rangiku-san." Momo replied as she moved over by Izuru and leaned back against him. "You got bankai, two lemons, and a marriage proposal; all I got in my story was angst and a confession of love." She glanced up at Izuru over her shoulder. "Not that that last part wasn't nice."

"Well, Callista-sama did say maybe she'd do another story with us, so maybe you can get her to…wait…what's a lemon?" Izuru replied.

Yoruichi, in cat form, smirked as much as a cat could as she leapt up into Callista's lap. "I guess you'll have to wait and see, little boy."

Callista smiled as she began scratching the cat behind the ears, looking over at Izuru and Momo, "I'm pretty sure I'll be writing more with you two eventually, don't worry."

"And what about the rest of us?" Rukia asked as she squeezed into the small room, her brother an unhappy shadow at her back.

Rangiku immediately hopped off the table and went over by Byakuya.

"I'll get to as many of you as I can as fast as I can." Callista replied, which started a whole new round of arguments.

"I still say you should do us next…"

"More people would read about me…"

"So many reviewers of No Warm Memories wanted a sequel, wanted to see…"

The bickering got loud enough that Callista finally tuned it out, leaning down to murmur to Kon, "And this is why I don't put all of them in the same room very often."

"Maybe they'll tire themselves out. There is one more question you've gotten a lot, if you don't mind me asking."

Callista glanced around the room at the Shinigami, judging how close hands were to zanpakuto hilts, and how loud the yelling was. She couldn't even tell who was yelling at who anymore, so she looked back to Kon with a sigh, "Ask away."

"Why Ichigo with Orihime? Don't most people like him and Rukia-neesan?"

"Honestly?" Callista replied, having expected this question. "I think him and Rukia could be fine together, I could even write them, but I like the two other pairings more. Orihime loves him so much, and his actions tell me he may feel the same way. And there's really no one but Rukia that I can imagine with Renji, and he's one of my favorite characters so I really wanted to write a story about him."

"There are lots of other stories of him with someone else." Yoruichi replied with a smirk from her place on the author's lap. She was probably the only Shinigami that could hear them with all the bickering going on.

"I don't write yaoi." Callista said flatly, although a twinkle in her eyes showed she knew exactly what stories the cat was talking about and didn't object to reading them.

"What's that?" Kon asked.

"Never mind." Both women said at once.

"So, do you think this has gone on long enough?" Callista asked Yoruichi as she continued to pet her, glancing around the room to see hands on zanpakuto.

"If you let it go much longer, well, let's just say a human like you shouldn't be in the room when this shit hits the fan."

"Right." Callista raised her fingers to her lips and gave a shrill whistle, which did nothing at all to quite the room. Finally, she thought for a moment, then just screamed as loud as she could, "The next person to say a single word gets killed in the first paragraph of my next story."

There was dead silence.

"That's better," The author smiled at all the Shinigami staring at her. "I guess the pen _is _mightier than the sword. Now, I see we're almost out of time, so Kon, were there any other important questions?"

The plushie lion stared at her, terror on his face.

"You may speak." Callista smiled.

"Well, Callista-sama, you never really answered my first question." Kon said nervously. "I know you don't really know what order you're doing your stories in, so all the arguing that's been going on is pointless, but, my original question…"

"About why I wanted this shown here." Callista prompted when he fell silent, and at his nod she continued, "Well, I will still be doing IchiHime soon, but my muse just kinda grabbed on to a different story, and won't let me do anything else until I finish it."

"Are you going to tell us?" Kon asked after about 20 seconds had passed and she hadn't said any more. The fact that no one else broke the silence showed how seriously the Shinigami had taken the author's threat.

"I guess I thought it was obvious from the fact that I wanted to announce it at the end of NWM." Callista said with a smile. "I'm finally writing the sequel to No Warm Memories, although it will only be two-parts, not another long story."

"And what prompted this?" Kon asked.

Callista was about to respond when she noticed Rangiku had her hand raised like a school-child, and she nodded to the older woman with a smile.

"Your muse decided it was lemon time, didn't she?" Rangiku asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, and although I think I'm gonna be writing one for IchiHime, I have to write lots of other stuff for that first, whereas for HitsuKarin all the work has already been done, I just need to jump a few more years into the future. Oh, and any of you can talk now, as long as you don't start bickering again."

"I do not bicker." Byakuya felt the need to assert.

"What's a lemon?" Renji asked, remembering the term from earlier.

This time it was Rukia who smirked. "Do we get a lemon?" She asked Callista, ignoring Renji's question.

"Of course you do, I'm pretty sure all the couples will." Callista replied, "They're fun to write, and readers seem to enjoy them. NWM was actually the first story I've written in a while without a lemon in it, it just didn't seem right to do it with them so young."

"I'm older than you are." Toshiro spoke up as the temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees.

"Sorry, um, with Karin as young as she was." Callista quickly amended the statement. Although Hyourinmaru was her favorite zanpakuto, she had no desire to see it up close and personal.

"What's a lemon?" This time it was Shunsui who asked, and Nanao who smirked at him, settling her glasses firmly on her nose as she replied, "I'll show you later."

"Why do all the women know what it is?" Ichigo spoke up.

The women, Callista included, exchanged smiles, eyes twinkling with mirth, but said nothing.

"So, does that mean I'm gonna be in a lemon?" Karin spoke for the first time, having been too fascinated watching the fighting to have joined in.

Callista nodded, smiling at the young woman. "Like I said, it's only two-parts long, but it should be a good read. It's titled Hanabi, and the first part will be posted tomorrow."

"Hanabi. Fireworks." Karin grinned. "A nice contrast to No Warm Memories, as it makes me think of summer festivals and, well, fire."

"My thoughts exactly." Callista returned her smile. "So are you up for it?"

Karin laughed. "I'm 17, I've been waiting for how long now?"

"Fair enough. I'll try and make it worth your wait." Callista said as the light flashing over the camera indicated they only had 15 seconds left. "Thank you all for tuning in to Radio Kon, and please look forward to Hanabi. Good night."

"Good night, and thank you all for listening." Kon said quickly.

"What's a lemon?" Half a dozen male voices echoed in frustration just before the broadcast ended, meaning it ended with the sounds of female laughter.

THE END

* * *

AN2: So that was fun to write, and hopefully enjoyable to read. I wanted to announce Hanabi here, specifically for the people who have NWM on Story Alert, but who don't have me on Author Alert, as I feel anyone who liked this story will enjoy Hanabi, as long as you like lemons. But I hate just putting up an announcement saying something like that, and I enjoy writing omake. And there you have it.

So, part 1 of Hanabi will go up tomorrow, with the second part following hopefully only a few days later. I hope you will all enjoy it and let me know what you think.


	15. Bonus Chapter: Ashidake

Disclaimer: Tite is God. Tite is King. Tite Kubo owns everything.

_AN: Below, please find a short bonus chapter, set a day after the end of this story. This was originally going to be an omake, but turned into a cute little stand-alone that I thought you would all appreciate. This was also written to announce my newest fanfics._

The newest story in this series is called "Until the Last Breath," and is currently being posted. It's mostly IchiHime, but will have all the couples from the series, and will have parts that focus only on those other characters. (parts much longer than I originally intended, lol.) The reason this announcement is going up here is that there are some very cute HitsuKarin moments in the new story, and I wanted to make sure everyone who fav'ed this story but not me as an author would know about it. Also, I never put up an announcement for my HitsuKarin one-shot, and also wanted to let all of you know about that. It's a cute little story set during the almost two-year gap in No Warm Memories, and is called "Absence." Please read and review, and enjoy! (And if you're reading NWM for the first time, please tell me what you think of that as well.)

* * *

Bonus Chapter: Ashidake

"Rukia-san?" Karin questioned as she looked up from where she knelt on the edge of the Juubantai practice field to find her friend standing over her.

"Just checking up on you. I know Ichigo and Orihime were here yesterday, but this is your first day being really alone up here, since Hitsugaya has paperwork and other things all day." Rukia said as she knelt beside the girl, her arms held oddly behind her back.

"I'm okay." Karin replied with a sigh, although she did glance down at Kyokon wistfully. "But no one will help me train. They know I'm Toshiro's girlfriend, and…"

"And they don't want to hurt you." Rukia concluded the statement with a long-suffering laugh. "I'll talk to a group of women I am part of, we'll all help you. Although, you will be going up against four fukutaicho and an ex-taicho."

"I guess I'll just learn faster then." Karin said with a smirk, trying to shift and see what was behind Rukia's back.

Rukia shifted so Karin could not see, a glint in her eyes showing she had just been waiting for Karin to show interest. "So Rangiku filled me in on how you met Hitsugaya, and I thought this might make you feel a little more at home."

Rukia let the anticipation build for a short moment, than smiled and produced a soccer ball from behind her back. "We call the game _Ashidake_ here. The rules are mostly the same, and vary enough by what area of Rukongai you came from that it can be quite… entertaining."

Karin took the ball with a happy grin which slowly faded as she looked out among the shinigami practicing with their zanpakuto. "They won't even train me in the most basic of sword forms. Why would they play a potentially dangerous game with me?"

Rukia chuckled. "Because, Karin-chan, they won't worry about hurting you in a game they think they can easily out-run and out-maneuver you in. They'll see themselves as being nice to the taicho's girlfriend, humoring her if you will, and they'll respect you a hell of a lot more once you kick their asses in a game they've been playing for longer than you've been alive… or dead."

Karin's laughed darkly along with Rukia as she rose. "Thank you. This could be fun."

OoOoOoO

"Taicho, do you want to take a break?" Rangiku asked somewhat hopefully as Hitsugaya rose from his desk for the third time in the last five minutes to move towards the window, only to settle back in his desk without looking out it.

He spun around, ready to snap at her, when he saw the compassion and understanding on her face that she hadn't allowed to show in her voice. He took a deep breath. "No, we really need to get this done. I hope to be ahead of schedule by Saturday, because Ichigo and Orihime will return that day, and my presence is required at a picnic."

Rangiku laughed out loud at the put-upon note he tried unsuccessfully to put into his voice.

"I'm just worried about her. She doesn't really understand how her relationship with me will affect how people treat her, even with the full extent of the relationship unknown. The rumors will certainly end up far worse than the truth; yet I prefer that the truth not be known, and Karin agrees." Toshiro said softly as Rangiku crossed the room to sit on the edge of his desk. "I certainly can't keep her at my side all hours of the day; both of us would grow to detest that. At the same time, I hate that she is not at my side at this moment. But going out to check on her all the time won't help at all, it might in fact make it worse."

"It's around lunchtime, let's both of us just take our bento and go down to the sparring field. We do that on a regular basis anyway." Rangiku said with a smile.

Toshiro considered it for only a second before replying. "An excellent idea."

The fact that he could just pull his lunch out of his desk, whereas she had to cross to her desk to get her own, meant that he beat her to the outer office's door.

It also meant she almost ran into him, as he stopped moving the instant his eyes fell on the training field, which for the moment had been turned into an _Ashidake_ field.

The field was surrounded by Shinigami from various divisions, and the two Juubantai leaders watched as money changed hands back and forth and the crowd pushed and screamed.

They were just in time to see Karin, sporting a red headband, rocket the ball up into the air, literally jump over two men wearing blue headbands, and spin-kick the ball into the goal as it fell back to the ground.

The crowd erupted, and money changed hands much more quickly.

"Go enjoy yourself and watch, if you wish." Toshiro said quietly, his smile actually reaching his eyes, one of the only times Rangiku could ever remember it doing so. "_You_ will not disrupt the game, but they… they will not behave like this is my presence… And she is having so much fun…"

Rangiku placed a hand on his shoulder as with her other one she reached past him and closed the door. "Let's eat as we work. Then we'll be sure you'll be free Saturday."

Toshiro nodded, then changed his mind and shook his head as he moved towards the window. "No, let's take a short break and watch her teach them that, in her own way, she is as impressive as her brother."

Rangiku laughed as she moved to the window to stand beside him just as Karin juggled around a man twice her size and height to wing a goal into the top left corner of the makeshift goal, and right through the goalie's hands.

After a glance at her taicho's face, Rangiku couldn't help the teasing comment that came from her lips. "You look like a proud father. Or should I say proud boyfriend?"

Toshiro turned to her with a glint in his eyes she normally only saw while they were in battle. "I am a taicho, and as such believe my men should be prepared for anything. They see a small girl who has been here less than two days, yet already holds a zanpakuto. Many would challenge her, except that they have heard she is my girlfriend. But they are willing to play a game with her, and I expect they will learn something about first-impressions today. It will be entertaining to see how they deal with it."

Rangiku laughed as she saw the corner of her taicho's mouth twitch with a suppressed smile. "You just want to watch her kick their asses."

Toshiro allowed his smile to bloom. "That will be entertaining as well."

The End

* * *

Translation note: To my knowledge, the soccer-esq game seen in Rukongai is never named. I have called it "_Ashidake_," which translates as "foot only." Works very well in my mind for soccer. (yeah, I know in actual soccer you can hit with any point but the hands really, but most work is done with the feet.)

AN: There's not a ton of new HitsuKarin yet, as everything from the first two chapters with HK was just the same story as NWM from different viewpoints. ("Until the Last Breath" starts with Ichigo and his friends running through the gate back to Earth after the announcement at the Remembrance ceremony that Karakura Town is being attacked.) Although I do know there were multiple people who when reading NWM were sad that I left out the scene where they meet with Yamamoto, so I ended up doing it for this new fic. I hadn't planned to do it, but it worked well in this fic and will be in Chapter 3, which should post within two days as long as I can get it finished by then. And there will be more with them in later chapters as well. Please enjoy, and review. And if this is your first reading of NWM, (because I am aware that posting this update shot it to the top of the search list despite the fact that it's the first story I wrote in the series and it has been complete for over a year) I hope you enjoyed it, and please let me know what you think.


End file.
